Orland bridge to be replaced

Funding to come through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Competitive Highway Bridge Program

The bridge on Bald Mountain Road crosses Moosehorn Creek and was built in 1951. Photo by Emily Baer.

April 14, 2026

By staff

ORLAND—U.S. Senator Susan Collins announced on April 6 that a bridge in Orland will soon be replaced as part of a $65 million rural infrastructure funding package that she secured in her role as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The funding will come through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Competitive Highway Bridge Program, which was created by Collins in 2018. The funds, the only ones designated for Hancock County, will go towards replacing the 75-year-old state-owned bridge on Bald Mountain Road that crosses Moosehorn Creek.

In a press release announcing the funding, Collins said she has “always been acutely aware of the unique challenges facing…rural communities” and that there is “no reason Mainers should have to continue using bridges that are in poor condition and have exceeded their original design service life.”

In total, the release said that 11 bridges will be replaced under the ‘Critical Connections: Preserving Mobility for Rural Economies’ umbrella. The project spans Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc and Somerset counties, and “are in poor condition, over 50 years old, and have exceeded their original design service life,” according to the release.

The historic Deer Isle bridge will not be replaced or repaired as part of this rural infrastructure funding package, despite an image of the bridge circulating on social media last week about the funding announcement.