beloved bridge between Topsham and Brunswick is facing a growing number of issues.
Fire engines, school buses and box trucks will have to take a different route between the two towns because of a new weight restriction.
A September inspection found many issues, with parts of the bridge experiencing cracking, severe section loss, rusting and corrosion. Because of that, Maine DOT says the bridge will be limited to vehicles under 10 tons, or 20,000 pounds, in the interest of preserving public safety.
"We’re going to have to add a couple more trucks to the list of vehicles that can’t go over the bridge like our engines," Topsham Fire Chief Chris McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin says they've been dealing with this for years, with some crews already used to taking the Route 1 Bypass instead, but this could impact their mutual aid response times.