Temporary bridge in Somesville to open Monday, allowing a seamless transition

SOMESVILLE, July 20, 2025 - The temporary bridge to handle traffic while Babson Bridge is being repaired will open Monday morning, according to an announcement on the Mount Desert town website.

The project to demolish the aging bridge and reconstruct it is slated to be completed in the spring, but Public Works Director Brian Henkel said the DOT project is four months “ahead of schedule.”

(Maybe pigs can fly after all.)

In November 2022, I wrote about the project to fortify the Babson Bridge over Kitteredge Brook and the Maine DOT’s decision to build a temporary bridge to handle the two-way traffic instead of routing the traffic to Crooked Road and other alternatives connecting the Quietside of the island and the noisy side - Bar Harbor and Northeast Harbor.

Babson Bridge is the major connector between at the junction of Rtes. 198 and 102. It is just south of Freshie's and the Somesville Post office.

Three years ago, the state DOT released plans and schedule for the project which called for its completion by 2026. But it changed the completion date to 2027 after it decided to build the temporary bridge.

At first glance the temporary bridge appeared narrow. But Henkel assured me that it meets the state’s minimum requirement of 11 feet per lane either way.

I’m grateful the DOT decided on a temporary two-lane alternative.

So far, this has been one of the most seamless road projects on the island.