Re[2]: [at-l] Crossing the Kennebec

[Bob C." <ellen@clinic.net (Bob C.)]

"... Steve's idea was that a bridge be built across the Kennebec," reports TJ.

MATC  is  responsible  for  the  river  crossing I believe, though the costs are
shared  by  ATC  and maybe the Park Service. Our next board meeting is the first
Friday  in  November,  I  think.  I  don't have an agenda yet, but I suspect the
resignation will be discussed then. Probably contacts with rafting companies are
also underway, since Steve came from the rafting industry, if I remember right.

A  bridge  has been discussed for years, especially during the negotiations with
the dam owners up stream who need to be relicensed, and thus could be tapped for
funds.

The trouble is a bridge would have to be a rather complex engineering structure.
I've  heard  the figure $1 million bandied about. The main rivers are controlled
by  dams  but  tributary  streams  dump  enormous quantities of water during the
spring  snow  melt,  which means a bridge would have to begin well away from the
water  on  both  ends  to  avoid  ice damage. Over the years some pretty massive
structures have been washed out by tons of ice pushed by flood waters in Maine.

Aside  from cost considerations, the consensus until now anyway seems to be that
a  bridge  sturdy  enough  to avoid ice damage would certainly conflict with the
desire to keep the trail as wild as possible.

Weary