Cheshire Bridge slated for repairs, brief closure

The Cheshire Toll Bridge, which links Springfield to New Hampshire, will be closed for repairs for about a week this summer and commuters will have to endure one-way traffic for about two months before that.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150401/NEWS02/704019953

Cheshire Bridge slated for repairs, brief closure By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 01,2015 Email Article Print Article Photo by Len Emery The long winter has added its share of potholes to the 1930- vintage Cheshire Bridge that connects Springfieldt to Charlestown, N.H. SPRINGFIELD — The Cheshire Toll Bridge, which links Springfield to New Hampshire, will be closed for repairs for about a week this summer and commuters will have to endure one-way traffic for about two months before that. The $500,000 project will remove the pavement and membrane on the bridge and repair the expansion joints, said David Scott, design chief for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Scott said Tuesday the historic 1931 three-span bridge needs paint as well as some minor steel repair, but New Hampshire doesn’t have enough money in its budget to cover those repairs. The project will be put out to bid shortly for the Cheshire Toll Bridge, which actually is no longer a toll bridge but is still called that. The timing of the repair and closing largely depends on the contractor’s schedule, Scott said. Scott said he would make a presentation on the project tonight in Charlestown, N.H. The Charlestown Select Board’s meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Scott said the bridge needs to be closed at the end of the project for the final paving. He said the expansion joints need to be replaced, as well as the concrete deck on the bridge. “The project can begin in July and go into the fall,” he said. “We’re also making it available that they can start in the spring of next year. Closure comes at the end of the process,” he said. For about two months, traffic will be one-way during daytime hours. During that time period, the bridge will be open to full traffic during nonwork hours, Scott said. Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell said he will attend Wednesday night’s meeting in Charlestown. He said the town is concerned about the access of emergency vehicles during the bridge closure. “It could have impacts on response times for the public safety people,” Yenerell said. “They provide backup for us and vice versa,” he said, referring to Charlestown fire and ambulance services. Springfield Fire Chief Russ Thompson said that the full closure, which will be in effect less than a week, will have a minimal impact on emergency services. “I don’t see any huge impact on us,” he said. “We don’t see a lot of resources coming over the bridge that can’t use (Interstate) 91,” he said. Alternate bridges for the time period the bridge is closed would be the New Arch Bridge, which links Bellows Falls and Walpole, N.H., as well as the Connecticut River Bridge, linking Ascutney and Claremont, N.H. Bill Boynton, a public information officer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, said the Cheshire Toll Bridge was rebuilt in 1992. It carries about 5,700 vehicles a day, he said. He said the toll booth was removed in 2001, and at that time it was the last toll bridge in New Hampshire. The state purchased the bridge in 1992 from the Springfield Terminal Railway. The first bridge at the crossing was built in 1806 and was a wooden covered bridge. It was built by the Cheshire Bridge Co.