Gov. LePage calls the Route 27 double bridge collapse ‘devastating’

Gov. Paul LePage, at left, talks with the state's DOT officials as they survey the bridge collapses in Carrabassett Valley today.

CARRABASSETT VALLEY - Gov. Paul LePage called the double bridge collapse on Route 27 "devastating" following a look for himself at the damage this morning.

The two bridges both washed out at about 4 p.m. Sunday, according to Carrabassett Valley Fire Chief Courtney Knapp. Knapp and his wife were out surveying the damage after about 6 inches of rain fell in the area. The Knapps arrived at the Access Road intersection on Route 27, just before the bridge, when they saw the bridge's guardrail move up and down and then the bridge suddenly collapsed several feet below. This morning, huge concrete chunks, once the span's supports, sat in the still raging Carrabassett River with sections of the paved and yellow-striped road surface continuing to cling at odd angles.

"It all seemed to happen in slow motion," Knapp said. It wasn't five minutes later, he said, when the second bridge, perhaps 500 feet to the south, also collapsed. The southern bridge sits next to the Carrabassett Valley Academy campus and spans over a large concrete culvert for Brackett Brook, which spills into the Carrabasset River.

Gov. LePage arrived with several Department of Transportation officials to survey the damage.

The huge concrete culvert lies exposed after the Route 27 bridge over Brackett Brook collapsed and was swept down river after six inches of rain fell during a tropical storm caused by Hurricane Irene on Sunday. The white building complex at center is Carrabassett Valley Academy.

Jeff Naum, DOT's supervisor for bridge operations, said two temporary bridge structures will be installed next to the former bridge sites until permanent bridges can be built. He said a very rough estimate is that it will take at least one month to install the temporary bridges.

The Brackett Brook bridge over culvert was built in 1989 and the longer span just north of the Access Road up to Sugarloaf is about 50 years old, he said.

"I don't know yet what type of bridge will be built, but this one wasn't adequate," Naum said looking at the big gap where the Brackett Brook bridge once was.

DOT Commissioner David Bernhardt said both bridges will be replaced "as fast as we can." The minimum amount of damage required for federal emergency funding is $750,000 and "that will be easily met here," Bernhardt said. He didn't rule out that the two bridge replacements will be into the millions.

The 50-year-old bridge over the Carrabassett River just north of the Access Road to Sugarloaf collapsed at 4 p.m. Sunday.

After surveying the damage in Carrabassett Valley, Gov. LePage and DOT officials headed back to the Carrabassett Valley Airport to continue flying over other areas where severe damage was reported from Hurricane Irene's aftermath, including a Route 4 bridge in Madrid, which is down to one lane and onto Rumford.

Before heading off, LePage said the bridge damage was "devastating" and his next step back in Augusta is to "meet with DOT and see what they can do for a temporary fix" and to see if "we meet the federal standard" for emergency disaster funding.

A temporary alternative route to access Sugarloaf Mountain and the Carrabassett Valley Library is on the Brackett Brook Road and across on the privately-owned Bridge Road. Repairs were made early this morning so it could be passable by 6:30 a.m. after about 50 employees and 50 guests at the resort were stranded on Sugarloaf Mountain overnight.

From the Access Road, a side view of the Route 27 bridge. Eustis and Stratton, to the north will be accessed via Route 4 to Rangeley and east on Route 16 to Stratton. The detour adds about 13.8 miles to the trip.

The Route 27 bridge near the Access Road to Sugarloaf once spanned over the south branch of the Carabbassett River.

Severe damage at the s-curves south of CVA will also require extensive work, Bernhardt said. That same area was rebuilt after the flood of 1987 when mud slides damaged the southbound lane and the Carrabassett River eroded the northbound lane. After yesterday's rain, the northbound lane was again severely eroded away, but no mud slides this time. One lane remains open to traffic.

Town Manager Dave Cota said he was particularly hard hit when he discovered the 25-year-old bridge at the Narrow Gauge Pathway trailhead at Campbell Field was taken out and the pathway itself sustained a lot of damage, he said.

"It's unbelievable," Cota said.

There was also a lot of damage to the Sugarloaf Golf Club course, owned by the town of Carrabassett Valley and operated by Sugarloaf Mountain Resort, with three of four golf cart bridges washed out. According to a press release, the club will reopen for golfing on Tuesday, Aug. 30 with nine holes available.  Then, on Wednesday, Aug. 31, all 18 holes will be open with two alternative tee boxes available in lieu of the boxes inaccessible due to the course’s cart bridge closures.

Guardrails once attached to the bridge span, are now suspended over the culvert broken into pieces after heavy rain caused the Brackett Brook to rise and the bridge structure to collapse.

A chunk of road sits downstream from the bridge site.