By Ezra Silk

esilk@keepmecurrent.com

Arnold Graton, a covered-bridge rehabilitation and construction expert from New Hampshire, will speak concerning the rehabilitation of Babb’s Bridge at the United Church of Christ in North Gorham on Monday, May 11.

Graton, who is based in Holderness, N.H., has repaired 64 covered bridges since 1958. He is the proprietor of Arnold M. Graton Associates, self-described as “the foremost authority on covered bridges in the country.”

Starting at 6:30 p.m., Graton will offer “food for thought” relating to the rehabilitation of Babb’s Bridge, the 37-year-old covered bridge over the Presumpscot River that connects Windham and Gorham, which has suffered from vandalism and a hit-and-run in recent months.

Last summer, holes appeared in the bridge’s cedar shingle roof, apparently to facilitate the bridge’s use as a perch to jump into the Presumpscot River. In late January, an unidentified vehicle dislodged a key wooden support pole from the Windham entrance, forcing the state Department of Transportation to shut down the bridge for more than a month in order to repair the damage.

According to Guy LaBrecque, who lives near Babb’s Bridge on Hurricane Road in Gorham, Graton will discuss ways to rehabilitate the bridge while maintaining its “authenticity.” LaBrecque, who, along with his wife Jan, invited Graton to the area, expects Graton to discuss the possibility of replacing the bridge’s cedar shingle roof with a steel roof. LaBrecque said he “very much” supports the metal roof option, which he believes will prevent local swimmers from punching holes in the roof and using the bridge as a diving board.

“It certainly will protect the superstructure and stop water from coming inside as far as rot goes,” he said. “It will certainly last longer than cedar shingles going back on.”

Graton said he has installed between six and eight metal roofs on covered bridges in the past.

“The traditional wood shingles ­– it’s pretty easy to bang a hole through,” he said. “With the metal it’s quite a lot harder because you’ve got to take the whole sheet of metal off.”

The metal roof idea may encounter resistance from the historic preservation community, which will be represented by members of the Gorham and Windham historical societies at Monday’s event.

“We’re hoping for cedar shingles,” said Linda Griffin, president of the Windham Historical Society. “It’s appropriate. All of the covered bridges were built after 1805 and that’s what we used, and we want it to look as original as possible even though it’s not.”

The bridge was constructed in the mid-1970s as a replica of the original Babb’s Bridge, which was built in 1864 and destroyed by arson in 1973. According to Griffin, the second Babb’s Bridge was inaugurated on the nation’s bicentennial in 1976 when a fife-and-drum militia led a parade through it. Griffin said the covered bridge, one of nine in the state, is a popular tourist destination.

“It’s a reproduction right now, so we would like an authentic reproduction,” she said.

In February, former state Sen. Gary Plummer of Windham organized a meeting with local legislators and Maine Department of Transportation officials to discuss the bridge. Representatives from the state, which manages the bridge, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. According to Griffin, one of the takeaways from the meeting was that law enforcement would increase bridge surveillance, which has been sparse in the past.

“I think the police are going to have increased surveillance as far as driving by more often, so perhaps that will stop people from damaging this,” Griffin said.

Plummer said Labrecque has already approached him about the metal roof idea. Plummer said he spoke with State Historic Preservation Officer Earl Shettleworth Jr. about the idea.

“He was not high on doing a metal roof,” Plummer said. “The more I think about it, I’d prefer to have the roof done the way it was initially.”

Kirk Mohney, assistant director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, said he preferred the idea of cedar shingles.

“The shingle roof would be a more appropriate type of material than the metal roof, as far as preserving the historic characteristics of the bridge,” he said. “It’s a reconstructed bridge. However, it was reconstructed, I think, to convey the characteristics of the bridge that had burned.”

Labrecque, who found out about Graton at a February meeting of the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges, said the bridge does not require cedar shingles since it doesn’t formally qualify as a “historic” bridge.

“To me, it’s not a historical bridge,” he said. “It has to be 50 years old under the national historical society rules and regulations.”

Labrecque said he hopes the meeting gets a conversation started – nothing more.

“This whole meeting, as far as I’m concerned, is food for thought,” he said.

Last summer, jumpers punctured holes in the roof of Babb’s Bridge. There is an effort under way to replace the wooden roof shingles with metal panels. File photoArnold Graton, a covered bridge specialist, left, with his wife, Meg Dansereau, and son, Tim Dansereau. Graton will speak about Babb’s Bridge on Monday at the United Church of Christ in Gorham.Courtesy photo