This year’s inspection was conducted by Hoyle, Tanner & Associates, and their observations were passed along to us to guide our use of the funds for repairs. Now, we’d like to take a moment to emphasize that while we’re about to give a play-by-play of various damages and stresses the Swinging Bridge needs fixed, that this is all pretty routine. Repairs and maintenance are the reason we do what we do in the first place, and all in all, this roundup of bridge maintenance required will probably sound worse than it actually is. So as you read through this list of things that need fixing on the Swinging Bridge, keep in mind--they are being fixed even as you read these words!

While the main cables are laid smoothly over the tower saddles, the secondary cables share the same saddle and ended up laid atop the main cables, with the secondary cables spliced directly over the saddle on the Topsham side, resulting in congestion at a critical location

The abutments and anchor vaults are in fair condition, with cracks in the concrete and debris and sand in the vaults, which needs to be cleaned to keep the steel hardware inside dry. The longitudinal stringers are in good condition with no decay, and the transverse floorbeams are likewise in good condition, though physical inspection showed there to be some surface rust.

And that about sums it up the key points of maintenance needed on the bridge! As the repair crews take the time to address these issues and others, we’d like to thank you again for your contributions that helped make these repairs happen, whether you donated to have a name engraved on a brick in the base of the bridge, or you ran in our Virtual 5K, or even just kicked in a few dollars where you could, you helped make these repairs happen. Something to keep in mind when you visit the bridge when it opens again in December!

Good afternoon, Swinging Bridge Supporters! With the winding down of our Virtual 5K it’s been a bit of a spell since last we wrote, and there have been some not insignificant developments since our event wrapped up. So, let’s get right into it and get you all up to speed.

The Town of Brunswick is funding the repair of the Brunswick tower of the Androscoggin Swinging Bridge (read more here).  The remainder of the scheduled repairs will be funded by the Save Our Swinging Bridge Org. The maintenance fund is filled with donations from people who love the bridge sometimes through sponsoring our annual run/walk event, sometimes by donating for an engraved brick to be installled in one of the Swinging Bridge Parks, and at other times by donating any amount at any time because a person has a connection with our historic bridge. 

In fact, he suggested that we turn our annual event into a Virtual 5K, having experience running them himself! With his friends Yuen Chun and Zeke Zucker in tow, he completed his run this year with a time of 49:28.

That’s right, registration closes at midnight on September 13, and the virtual walk/run finishes at midnight September 15! That’s right, registration closes at midnight on September 13, and the virtual walk/run finishes at midnight September 15!

So once you’ve completed your run, what do you do?

1. Take a selfie or take a picture of where you finished!
2. Open up your social media platform of choice; Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram
3. Post the picture with the tag #SOSB2020! You can post your finish time and route if you’d like, and while these are optional, we'd love to see where you were located for your run!
4. We'll send your t-shirt in about 3 - 4 weeks.​

It was, admittedly, not an easy decision to choose to hold our annual fundraiser as a virtual 5K & 2K this year. We considered a number of options, including postponing it until life resumes a sort of normalcy, but what it comes down to is that the gathering situation doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon, and the Swinging Bridge still needs our support, so our solution of holding the fundraiser in the safest way possible ended up being an effective compromise. And while doing it this way might seem limiting in some respects, this week, we’re going to be exploring the opportunities of doing a 5K in this new way. If you’re not familiar with what a virtual 5K is or how to participate this year, check out our previous blog post on how we’re handling the event this year!

Last week’s blog post was centered around the history of the Swinging Bridge and the formation of the group that preserves it to this day. This week, we’re focusing on the present- specifically, what goes into the upkeep of the bridge.

The Androscoggin Swinging Bridge is inspected for wear and damage every five years, and this year will be receiving another--one slightly overdue, in fact, but we’re a year or two behind. So we’re sharing with you a little peek behind the curtain, going into how the bridge is inspected, how it’s repaired, and how your donations make it happen.

After the towers, abutments, and cables are inspected, the engineer’s eye is turned to the span, where pins, bolts, and welds are checked for looseness or missing pieces. Coating damage is noted, cables are checked for deterioration, wood is checked for loose or rotting pieces, and supports, brackets, beams, and bracing are checked. The span itself is checked for alignment as well.