A Madawaska artist wants to make a sculpture out of the old international bridge

Dan Cayer, a Grand Isle artist with forty years of experience, unveils a small-scale model of a sculpture that would be built out of the international bridge that once connected Madawaska to Edmundston, New Brunswick. The sculpture is of an Acadian star, an important symbol of the region’s heritage. (Chris Bouchard | The County)

Local artist Dan Cayer has made a pitch to the town for a new 20-foot sculpture made out of materials from the nearly century-old bridge that once connected Madawaska to Canada — and they’re on board.

That old bridge has now been replaced by a new span and port of entry project completed last year. It was taken down, but the town kept some parts of the bridge due to its historic significance.

“When the DOT decided to dismantle the old bridge, we got those parts,” Madawaska Town Manager David Daigle said before Cayer unveiled a model of the project during a Tuesday Select Board meeting. “We brought them to the public works garage and Dan [Cayer] has taken some pictures of those old parts and come up with something that you might be interested in.”

The sculpture is shaped like a star, which is an important symbol for the town and region’s Acadian culture and heritage. The star symbol dates back to 1884. It was used by early French settlers to show that although they were from France, their culture was unique with its own traditions.

The five-pointed star design is displayed on barns and homes throughout Aroostook County.

Cayer, who has worked as an artist for over 40 years, said he spent a while thinking about how the pieces of the bridge could be used in an art piece because they’re all straight beams. He created miniature replicas of the beams, made to scale, and that was when he came up with the idea to design the star model.

He explained to town officials how he would eventually like to paint the sculpture.

“I was thinking of painting the outside blue, representing the sky, the water, and everything that has to do with the air and earth,” he said. “The inside would all be red. This represents the heart of the people, the strength.”

The lacing will be painted white, which is the color of the Acadian flag’s middle stripe. Cayer said the lacing itself represents the activity back and forth between the two countries. 

“The lacing represents people crossing back and forth on this bridge,” he said. “Not only crossing from Madawaska to Edmundston, but crossing the St. John River, which is the reason the bridge was there to begin with.”

Select Board Chairman Jason Boucher said the project was beautiful and asked if the town could also buy a copy to display at a community space to represent the larger sculpture.

Cayer spent roughly three months creating the model.

Daigle said the town plans to reach out to the St. John Valley Technology Center to see if students would be willing to do the welding and construction as part of their coursework. And with the town already in possession of the materials, the project would be done at little cost to the town.

While final details, such as the sculpture’s location, have yet to be determined, the board unanimously voted to move forward with the sculpture project.

“I truly appreciate you taking all the time to put that together,” Boucher said. “It’s astonishing.”

The old bridge was replaced by a structure that was ranked as the number one bridge in North America for 2024 by Roads & Bridges magazine. Once completed, about 200 gathered at the new Port of Entry facility for a ceremony that included U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Rep Jared Golden.