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Save the Bridge group asks Waterville council for $16,000 to fund river safety buoys as preservation effort continues
Summary
Save the Bridge asked the Waterville City Council for a $16,000 donation to buy buoys and a 3,000-foot safety line to funnel kayakers under a safe arch; the group also reported petitions, outreach to state and federal officials and an engineer27s assessment while council sought insurance and cost details.
Dave Weber, speaking for the Save the Bridge Association, asked the Waterville City Council on March 23 for a city resolution to provide $16,000 to buy buoys and a 3,000-foot polyethylene rope to create two navigation "funnels" intended to route kayakers and fishermen under a structurally safer arch of the local historic bridge.
The group27s plan, Weber said, would reduce the probability of injury by steering river users away from the single arch the volunteers consider hazardous. "For $16,000 in materials ... you anchor it at the banks and you create these two funnels," Weber said, describing volunteers stringing buoys and the possibility that the city might need to hire a crew to install the line.
Janice Brada and others working with the coalition told council that engineer Bill Vermez had inspected the bridge and wrote that "no arch on the Rodebuff bridge is an imminent risk of collapse let alone shows any signs of catastrophic or local failure," and that insurance adviser Jake McVicker had told them "you can27t sue a government entity. You can try, but you will fail," a point Brada said helps explain a lack of past mitigation by ODOT.
The coalition said it has gathered about 600 petition signatures and has pursued local media and elected officials; Dave Weber said the group had appealed to Governor Dwine and that Congresswoman Marcy Captor27s office requested a pause and sought National Park Service consideration of preservation and battlefield-protection grants.
Council members voiced broad sympathy for preservation but repeatedly asked for concrete cost and insurance figures before committing city funds. "There27s a lot of question marks," Councilmember Nick Sergeant said, pressing for fixed bids and liability estimates. Council also expressed concern about whether a buoy line could withstand river forces and ice melt.
Weber and others said Rex Childress, who supplied a written statement, could provide liability numbers later in the week or return at the next council meeting. The council did not vote on the $16,000 request at the March 23 meeting; members said they were generally supportive of pursuing a pause from the governor while awaiting hard numbers and written insurance options.
Next steps: coalition leaders will follow up with insurance and installation estimates and may seek a special meeting to present them; council indicated it will continue to pursue a pause request with the governor and review any proposals when staff and the group bring formal figures.
