NH bridge officials says Cheshire Bridge needs additional work

The Cheshire Bridge needs additional work on its substructure, New Hampshire bridge officials said Wednesday night, while emphasizing that the deck work planned for this summer was the most important work to be done now.
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150403/NEWS02/704039945

NH bridge officials says Cheshire Bridge needs additional work By Susan Smallheer Staff Writer | April 03,2015 Photo by Len Emery The Cheshire Bridge spans the Connecticut River from Springfield to Charlestown, N.H. CHARLESTOWN, N.H. — The Cheshire Bridge needs additional work on its substructure, New Hampshire bridge officials said Wednesday night, while emphasizing that the deck work planned for this summer was the most important work to be done now. David Scott, in-house bridge designer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, told a roomful of residents from the Springfield, Vt., and Charlestown area that the $500,000 project was needed as soon as possible, in order to catch the deteriorating conditions. Scott readily admitted that the bridge, which links Springfield to Charlestown, needed additional work, particularly on its piers in the Connecticut River. He also said the bridge needed to be painted, and he said that was a project that would take longer than most people would think. This summer’s project will be funded 100 percent by the state of New Hampshire, with no help from either the federal government or the state of Vermont. The state of New Hampshire owns 100 percent of the bridge, Scott said. Scott said there was a possibility that the bridge work, which is expected to result in the bridge being closed for five days, won’t actually take place until 2016. The pavement and membrane need to be removed and the concrete deck checked for deterioration, Scott said. Whatever bridge company wins the bid will have to contract for the four steel expansion joints that need to be replaced, he said. Getting those pieces made might push the project back until next spring and the New Hampshire contract allows for that, he added. Springfield officials were on hand for the briefing, with Springfield Police Chief Douglas Johnston questioning whether the bridge could be left open to full two-way traffic during peak traffic times, particularly in the morning. Johnston said otherwise the area faces long backups of traffic. But Scott said such an analysis was not done and in all likelihood would not work for the project. The first eight weeks of the project will call for one-way traffic during work hours, and full two-way traffic once work is halted for the day, he said. The contractor will lay down steel plates over the work areas, he said. Charlestown Selectwoman Brenda Ferland said Charlestown was concerned about the bridge being closed during the Meeting Waters YMCA summer camp schedule. The camp is located in Springfield, but serves Charlestown children, she said. Scott said the bridge closure would likely occur after the camp season is over in late August. The Cheshire Bridge has only been owned by the state of New Hampshire for about 20 years, and it stopped being a toll bridge about 12 years ago. Scott said the state and the construction firm would hire flaggers to guide traffic across the bridge, as well as the two intersections — one in Vermont and one in New Hampshire — at the bridge’s ends. He said the bridge was too narrow for temporary barriers between the lane of traffic and the work on the bridge’s deck.