View the Maine Public Bridges Inventory.
Current Bridge Law
The current bridge law under Subchapter 4-A primarily defines the responsibilities for bridge maintenance and capital improvements for all public bridges, minor spans, and smaller structures.
The graphical summary is shown below.
Bridge Responsibility
| Responsible Organization | Bridge | Minor Span | Culvert | Low Use Redundant Bridge | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital Imp. | Maint. | Capital Imp. | Maint. | Capital Imp. | Maint. | Capital Imp. | Maint. | |
| State Highway | S | S | S | S | S* | S* | N/A | N/A |
| State Aid | S | S | S | S | S* | S* | N/A | N/A |
| Town Way | S | S | M | M | M | M | 50% S 50% M | M |
M = Municipality Responsibility
S = State Responsibility (MaineDOT)
* = Municipal Responsibility if inside urban compact area
** = Municipality pays lesser of 50% of cost, or 1% of property valuation and state pays remaining balance
Additional Bridge Information
- 2020 Fact Sheet on Current Bridge Policies and Laws (PDF)
- MaineDOT’s best practices for bridge cleaning and washing (PDF) - Updated June 2018
- MaineDEP letter about washing activities into Maine’s streams and rivers (PDF)
- A little maintenance can go a long way (PDF)
- MaineDOT Bridge Washing policy/procedures (PDF)