Public access to Squirrel Point Light and Bald Head Preserve in Arrowsic has been secured thanks to a custom-designed footbridge installed in July. The new structure, designed, built and installed by Modern Edge Metal Fabrication of Georgetown, replaces a wooden bridge that was rapidly deteriorating due to frequent flooding by ever-increasing high tides and storms.

In addition to withstanding future storms and increases in sea level, the bridge and its foundation needed to be designed for delivery by tractor down a narrow trail.

“This truly took a community of donors and volunteers,” Elisabeth Paine of Citizens for Squirrel Point, who spearheaded the project, said in a prepared release. “Getting the components to the site and anchoring the structure were engineering conundrums solved by Luke Winne of Modern Edge. Nothing fazes him and his team.”

The Davis Family Foundation, Fields Pond Foundation, Maine Lighthouse Trust, The Nature Conservancy of Maine, Modern Edge Metal Fabrication and many individual charitable donors from Maine to California contributed to the project.

The footpath, which winds through coastal wetlands and forest, leads to two significant sites along the Kennebec River: The Nature Conservancy of Maine’s 296-acre Bald Head Preserve and Squirrel Point Light, a lighthouse built in 1898 that is being restored for the benefit of the community under the direction of the volunteer-run Citizens for Squirrel Point.

“Now that we’ve ensured public access for decades to come, we’re able to return to our primary goal of restoring the Squirrel Point Light property — most urgently the repair and stabilization of its landmark light tower,” Paine said.

To learn more about Squirrel Point Lighthouse and the Citizens for Squirrel Point, visit squirrelpoint.org.