SACO — The city planner is hopeful a pedestrian bridge over the Saco River could be completed by Labor Day.

Saco Island developer Kevin Mattson of Dirigo Capital Advisors had expressed in November safety concerns regarding the proposed bridge, and the project was on hold until the concerns were addressed. The suggested bridge would link North Dam Mill in Biddeford to Saco Island.

City Planner Bob Hamblen said Friday the two parties have covered a lot of ground in the past few weeks.

Hamblen said the city has agreed to lighting the mezzanine, putting signs in place, setting up security cameras and patching up some spots on a walkway. Hamblen said the city looked at what Biddeford had agreed to on the North Dam Mill side, and the installation of security cameras was one of the items.

Hamblen said mid-day Friday the City of Saco, Dirigo Capital Advisors and Island Terrace Owners Association had all signed a required easement agreement, and the agreement still needed a signature from TD Bank, which holds a mortgage on property on Saco Island.

Hamblen said the Maine Department of Transportation had imposed a Jan. 31 deadline for all the paperwork to be completed and signed, however, he said he called MDOT officials explaining that all signatures would not be signed until late this week or early next week, and they agreed to the extension.

Hamblen said the MDOT intends to go out to bid for the project on March 23, and he hopes construction will begin this summer and be completed by Labor Day.

The bridge has been estimated to cost more than $400,000. The MDOT will pay for 80 percent of the costs, and the remainder will be split between Saco and Biddeford. Each city is estimated to be liable for about $42,000, said Hamblen.

Hamblen said he thinks the proposed pedestrian bridge will be an asset to the two downtowns.

“I think it’s going to be terrific,” he said.

Mattson did not respond to requests for comments by press time. A recent entry on the Saco Island blog said that Dirigo Capital Advisors supported the pedestrian bridge and communications with the city had been going well.

“We strongly support the idea of a pedestrian bridge spanning the Saco River and connecting Saco Island with the Pepperell Mill Campus,” it said.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or [email protected].