Piers in water 1 Width 7.3 m Material Concrete Construction end 1930 | No. of spans 2 Total length 194 m Location Bellows Falls | |
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Official name Charles N. Vilas Bridge Similar Arch Bridge, Calvin Coolidge Bridge, Bulkeley Bridge, Canalside Rail Trail Bridge, Wells River Bridge | ||
Vermonters take vilas bridge
The Charles N. Vilas Bridge between Bellows Falls, Vermont and North Walpole, New Hampshire, is a 635-foot (194 m) two-span concrete deck arch bridge over the Connecticut River. It was built in 1930 and has been closed since March 2009.
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Vilas bridge
History
In 1784, a wooden covered bridge, the first bridge over the Connecticut River, was built on this site by Colonel Enoch Hale, as a toll bridge. The toll was 3¢ for a man on horseback, double if he were in a chaise. If he were in a two-horse chaise, the toll was 20¢. In 1840, it was replaced by the lattice truss Tucker Toll Bridge at the same location.
The Tucker Toll Bridge was the product of Captain Isaac Damon. He built lattice truss covered bridges all over New England and New York, including 11 over the Connecticut River.
The Vilas Bridge was built in 1930, rehabilitated in 1974, and closed in 2009. It is a two-span, concrete arch bridge with open spandrels, with "turned" concrete bolsters holding up its railing. A notable plaque is mounted on the bridge containing a section of "The Bridge Builder" by Will Allen Dromgoole.
Just downstream of the bridge are some petroglyphs carved into the rock on the Vermont side.
Rehabilitation effort
The condition of this bridge has been a concern of the community for some time, given that the bridge has been crumbling. Members of the community met in June 2012 to figure out what to do with the Vilas Bridge. It was pointed out that New Hampshire may have to delay repairs until 2015 or even later, due to financial restrictions on the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDoT).
The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) has made overtures to the NHDoT to get the Vilas Bridge open sooner, given that the NHDoT is in the middle of a financial crisis. VTrans' commissioner Brian Searles made the offer to his counterpart, Chris Clement at the NHDoT in December 2013 to, in effect, front the repair money if NHDoT would fund Vermont's part of other repairs later.
Opponents of repair state that there are other bridges nearby which serve this community, so the Vilas Bridge is not needed, while other failing bridges which serve communities without any near-by alternatives, are also in need of maintenance. New Hampshire rejected Vermont's offer.
Later in 2014, New Hampshire bill HB 1205 was created to split the cost of repair 50-50 with Vermont, instead of the usual 7% (VT) / 93% (NH) by ownership percentage, of the estimated $5M repair cost. Further action will mean putting the Vilas Bridge back on New Hampshire's 10-year plan, which requires New Hampshire legislative action. The current 10-year plan runs through 2016, which means that adding the bridge to the next 10-year plan puts off repairs until 2017–2026.