Over a hundred years ago, building a bridge here that could not open for tall ships would have been unthinkable because the local economy relied heavily on shipbuilding and the maritime trades. Many types of bridges have crossed the Kennebunk River at this site, and damage from spring flood, ice, and strong tides led to replacing wood pilings with granite bridge abutments and timber with more durable steel and concrete beams. When the Coast Guard closed the river to upstream navigation in 1988, the era of the drawbridge and swing bridge came to a close.