PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • March 20, 2026
A new bridge over the Stroudwater River is a critical milestone in a plan to connect the Fore River Sanctuary and the Stroudwater River Trail. The bridge waited on the ground next to the river for years while the nonprofit Portland Trails completed fundraising and permitting for the project. Now, it stretches across the water with accessible ramps on each bank. It won’t officially open until later this spring — signs warn “Please Use Bridge At Your Own Risk” — but it is traversable. “It’s a major link,” said Jon Kachmar, executive director of Portland Trails. “It will really connect the city in a way that it’s never been connected before.”