New ATV bridge provides better, safer access to Houlton businesses

Elizabeth Gartley, Special to the Pioneer Times, Special to The County
17 years ago
    HOULTON, Maine – ATV riders, snowmobilers, and other outdoor recreation enthusiasts will now enjoy much easier travels through the town of Houlton. The Aroostook Riders ATV Club completed their new suspension bridge behind Ivey’s Motor Lodge on Dec. 2. The new bridge provides easier access to North Road businesses from the east side of Houlton by allowing ATV riders to circumvent the I-95 and safely cross the Medexnekeag River. Prior to the bridge being in place, recreational vehicles were forced to bypass Houlton entirely, traveling 14 miles out of their way.

    The Aroostook Riders spearheaded the project and had assistance from the town of Houlton, local businesses and volunteers.
“There was a tremendous amount of contribution to help get this thing done. It was a great community project, [the ATV Club] really buckled down and did a lot of the work themselves,” said Doug Hazlett, the Houlton town manager.
Work on the access trails began in the summer, and construction on the bridge began in early October through completion in the first week of December. Bridgham Engineering of Mapleton designed the new bridge, and Langille Construction of Washburn was in charge of the building of the bridge. Local contractors Dickison and London and Nelson Construction built the access roads on the east and west sides, respectively. S.W. Collins donated the chain link fence to provide safety guards along the 225-foot-long suspension bridge.
The bridge had an approximate total cost of $100,000 and was funded through grant money, including funds from the Recreational Trails Program, a federal grant, and from the Snowmobile and ATV Program, a grant from the Maine Department of Conservation. The town of Houlton coordinated all the accounting for the project, and Don Keiser, the town grant writer at the time, was responsible for obtaining the monies to fund the new bridge.
With such a massive community effort, the Aroostook Riders don’t plan on monopolizing the bridge.
“It’s for all types of recreation. It’s not just an ATV bridge. We built it as an all-purpose recreational trail, for hiking and biking and snowmobiling, as well as the ATV Club,” said Carl Campbell, president of the Aroostook Riders ATV Club.
“What I’m hoping is that it allows ATV-ers and snowmobilers to stay in Houlton, and use it as a launching place for their trips,” Hazlett added, “If they’re staying here, they’re going to go to our restaurants, buy gas at our gas stations, and stay in our hotels, and that’s great for the town and great for them – we’re right off the Interstate, so it’s really easy.”
The club and others held an unofficial ribbon cutting to commemorate the completion of the new bridge, but the Aroostook Riders plan on having an official grand opening and dedication in the early spring of 2008.