NORWAY — A long-awaited footbridge across Pennesseewassee Stream in downtown Norway finally was installed Thursday afternoon.

Expected to arrive between 9 and 10 a.m., it wasn’t until after 2 p.m. the 24-foot long steel bridge finally arrived on the back of a flatbed truck.

A crane and other construction equipment was ready and waiting for the new bridge, which quickly was secured on two concrete pads on either side of the stream. 

The new span is placed on the foundation of a previous bridge between the Water Street municipal parking lot and the backside of the Gingerbread House on Main Street. 

By 3 p.m., the empty flatbed was on its way out of town. 

About 10 people, mainly Norway Highway Department personnel and reporters who witnessed the installation, seemed impressed that it went so smoothly.  

“The hardest part was getting the driver to find Norway from Alabama,” joked Town Manager David Holt, as he regarded the new bridge. 

The new steel has been coated to give it a burnished, rusted look that will fit in better with the surroundings, Holt said. 

Residents at annual town meeting in 2012 approved using $20,000 from the Community and Economic Development Reserve for the bridge. When that amount was not enough, two anonymous donors gave as much as $10,000 to help the town complete the project. 

Crews still need to fill the bridge’s open walkway with concrete, pour concrete ramps on either end and install railings on the open space on its sides. 

Holt said the bridge should be ready for public use within three weeks. 

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