In October 2007, staff with the Land Use Regulation Commission approved a permit to replace the failing Henderson Brook Bridge, which is a major river-crossing for logging trucks operating in the Allagash region.

But six individuals and RESTORE: The North Woods appealed the permit on grounds that the new permanent span would violate the terms of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The appellants also allege, among other things, that the replacement bridge would degrade the wilderness experience for paddlers in the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, a 92-mile corridor of lakes and rivers in northern Maine.

On Wednesday, members of LURC’s board rejected the appeal by unanimous vote after hearing comments from both sides. The decision should allow the Bureau of Parks and Lands to begin construction this summer or fall, although opponents could appeal the project to Superior Court.

"I suspect that regardless of the decision that we make today, the issue is not going to go away," said Bart Harvey, LURC’s chairman.

The fight over replacing Henderson Brook Bridge is just the latest flare-up in a decades-long political and legal fight over the Allagash Wilderness Waterway.

Located near Round Pond, Henderson Brook Bridge was intended to be a temporary structure when it was built roughly 40 years ago.

But today, an estimated 150,000 tons of timber crosses the bridge annually, making it a crucial thoroughfare for the logging industry operating in that remote corner of Maine. Another 20,000 recreational visitors also use the bridge annually.

Decades of severe weather and heavy traffic have taken a toll on the wooden bridge, however.

The replacement span, which would be built just downstream from the existing bridge, would be slightly longer and taller but would be constructed to blend in better with the natural surroundings. The Bureau of Parks and Lands also would convert the existing trailered boat launch at the site into a hand-carry boat launch.

Henderson Brook Bridge was one of six bridges that were designated as permanent water-crossings in a controversial law passed by the Legislature in 2006. That same bill, LD 2077, also wrote into statute 11 sites within the Allagash where people could gain access to the water to launch a boat.

Jym St. Pierre of RESTORE disagreed with the way state officials and LURC staff have interpreted the law.

"My understanding is at most the Legislature … authorized BPL to apply for a permit for the bridge," St. Pierre told commission members Wednesday. "It did not mandate that a bridge be built."

None of the six individuals who appealed the permit — Charles FitzGerald, Kenneth Cline, Dean and Sheila Bennett, and Bob and Diane Guethlen — were present at Wednesday’s hearing.

But Rep. Troy Jackson, an Allagash Democrat, said the 2006 law that he co-sponsored clearly states that there will be a permanent bridge at Henderson Brook. And Jackson warned that, in his eyes, the parties delaying construction of a new span could be liable should the bridge fail while a truck is crossing.

"I’m very frustrated and very tired of it," Jackson said of the delays.

Jackson and other supporters of the project also criticized representatives of environmental groups for boycotting the task force that recommended a design and location for the bridge.

Will Harris, director of the Bureau of Parks and Lands, said both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service have signed off on the project. So with the LURC permit in hand, the bureau plans to complete plans for the bridge and build it this summer or fall.

The bridge is expected to cost roughly $800,000 and will be paid for by a consortium of commercial landowners that use the span, as well as by the state.

Appellants FitzGerald and Cline also are challenging the 2006 law in a lawsuit still pending in federal court.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Thursday, February 07, 2008 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."