Ongoing repair work to the Hartland Covered Bridge, the longest covered bridge in the world at 1282 feet, will take longer then expected thanks to Mother Nature and the cold temperatures.
Work on the National Historic Site is nothing new to the residents of Hartland. The over 100-year old structure has undergone countless closures due to maintenance and repairs of the years, but work is currently ongoing to repair the roof and bolts on the bottom chord of the structure to protect its truss and maximize its lifespan doesn’t have a set completion date.
“Work on the bridge’s timber truss is also being aided by temporary steel structures,” says Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DTI) spokesperson Jacob MacDonald in an email sent to CTV. “These support house jacks reduce the load on bridge elements being repaired.”
Ice floes flowing down the Saint John River is pressing against these temporary steel structures MacDonald continues and have raised concerns about their stability. The jacks have since been removed and the structure is now carrying its own weight.
The bridge itself is not in any danger of damage the department says, but vehicle traffic cannot resume until the jacks are back in place which a timeline was not provided for.
There is also steel structure systems set up inside the bridge to aid in roof repairs called “strongback.” The temporary addition allows safe access to the platform while workers continue roof repairs. They will be removed once work is completed.
Work on the bridge is expected to continue throughout 2025. It was not made clear to CTV by DTI how the work will affect full or temporary closures. A timeline for when the bridge will reopen from the current work was also not provided.
Hartland Mayor Tracey DeMerchant admits the closure is a slight inconvenience for locals but is not a major issue.
She has not been told how long the current work will take and is hoping to get answers from the province to help communicate a timeline to her community.
“We want to be able to use it and we want to use it frequently,” DeMerchant says. “The sooner we have it up and running for full pedestrian use and full passenger use we’ll be very grateful.”
“The perspective of being in the bridge driving and to see the way the light shadows and flickers as you go through, it’s pretty special.”
The Hartland Covered Bridge was constructed in 1901 and by early 1922 the structure was fully covered. It received National Historic Site designation on November 17, 1977.
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