NEW SHARON -- Town selectmen have scheduled a public meeting to discuss the Old Route 2 bridge over Muddy Brook, closed since last winter after being declared structurally unsound.

The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Dec. 20 at the Cape Cod Hill School on Cape Cod Hill Road.

The closure effectively turned the street into a dead end and sent motorists, snowmobilers, bicyclists and pedestrians looking for another way to get to the other end.

A month ago, a petition signed by over 400 people urged selectmen to do something about reopening the 78-year-old bridge.

In response, the board scheduled the public meeting and invited two Maine Department of Transportation bridge specialists to answer the community's questions.

"The public wants as much information as possible about the bridge and we want to understand our options," said Selectman Russell Gardner.

"The problem is that the state has more bridges than it can take care of. And this bridge is really redundant because there is one right next to it (on U.S. Route 2)."

Last March, DOT inspectors found one of the old bridge's concrete piers was eroding.

Three days later, the state notified selectmen the crossing was to be closed. There are about 15 homes on Main Street, also known as Old Route 2, and the closure changed the street to a dead end.

DOT officials Dale Doughty and John Buxton will be at the meeting to answer questions and explain the state's bridge inspection plan.

According to the DOT's Web site on bridges, there are 288 bridges in Maine at risk of being closed or posted and at current funding levels, only half of those can be repaired.

Doughty said he and Buxton want to meet with residents to find out how the bridge fits into the community.

"There is very little traffic over the bridge and there is another bridge a short distance away. For the amount of money needed to replace it compared to the rest of the needs in the state, it does not warrant it," Doughty said.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com