Dozens of Central Maine Homes at Risk After New Bridge Weight Limits Impact Fire Response

Roughly 60 homes in Lincoln County are now in a vulnerable spot when it comes to fire protection, and it all comes down to two aging bridges and some new weight limits.

According to WGME 13, ff you live near Long Pond, you know Somerville Road is the only real way in and out of the east side. But recently, the state posted new weight limits on the bridges at both ends of the road.

Now here’s the kicker: local fire crews rely on tankers to haul in water since there are no hydrants out that way. But those tankers are too heavy to legally cross the bridges now, thanks to a new 20-ton limit.

Wayne Johnston, the road commissioner in Jefferson, says he's been told point blank—tankers are a no-go. “They can get across with the smaller trucks for now,” he said. But when it comes to the big rigs carrying water? Forget it.

One fire chief told the news station that they’d have to dump water just to make weight, which kind of defeats the whole purpose of heading to a fire.

So who’s responsible for fixing all this? The bridge on the south end is up to the Town of Jefferson. The one up north? That falls under Maine DOT. And residents living between these two weight-restricted bridges are saying what we’re all thinking... something’s gotta give.

“If they need to get in and help people out, then it should be repaired. If it’s a safety issue, it should be taken care of,” local resident Elizabeth O’Rielly told channel 13.

Officials are now waiting on the state for answers, including what the legal risks might be if a fire truck has to cross the bridge in an emergency. Johnston says they're hoping an engineer will soon determine whether the bridges can be patched up or if they need a total replacement.

Meanwhile, the Town of Somerville is asking Maine DOT to move its one-lane bridge higher on the state’s repair list. DOT says they’re “looking into it.”

In the meantime, if a fire does break out, fire crews could try drawing water from Long Pond, but as anyone who’s seen a Maine summer knows, that’s not ideal when every second counts.