MADRID TOWNSHIP— The official opening for the Perham Stream Bridge on the multi-use trail is set for noon Saturday, Aug. 27. The bridge is at the confluence of Perham and Orbeton streams and is a major crossing on the ITS 84/89 snowmobile trails and the Moose Loop ATV trail. This single-span steel girder bridge replaces a previous bridge which had been damaged during Hurricane Irene.

A ribbon cutting ceremony, complete with free hot dogs and burgers, is the final stage of a three-year collaborative process between the High Peaks Alliance, North Franklin Snowmobile Club, Narrow Gauge Riders ATV club, landowner Mark Beauregard and others.

Funding for the bridge included grants from Maine’s Recreational Trails Program, the Franklin County TIF program and the Betterment Fund.

The trail needed to be closed for one week while the old bridge was removed and the new one was installed. The bridge is now open for public motorized and non-motorized recreation with a vehicle width restriction of 60 inches (exceptions being made for snowmobile trail groomers).

Maine’s multi-use ITS 84/89 trail crosses the Orbeton Stream parcel, an area of working forest conserved through a conservation easement in 2015 secured by the Trust for Public Lands with funding from the Forest Legacy and Land for Maine’s Future programs and many donors. The High Peaks Alliance served as a local partner for the Trust for Public Land in establishing the easement which preserves public access to this trail for riders, bikers and hikers.

Parking for the event will be on Reeds Mill Road near the intersection with ITS 84/89. Additional parking is available near the Madrid Trail Head of the Fly Rod Crosby Trail

Attendees can walk, or take an ATV to the bridge from Reeds Mill Road. A truck will also be available to shuttle people to and from the bridge.

Direction: Take Route 4 to Madrid and turn onto Reeds Mill Road. Continue for just under five miles. You will pass the Star Yoga Barn on the left, the ITS 84/89 intersection is at the bottom of the hill and across the bridge.

For more information, call 416-4952, or visit www.highpeaksalliance.org.