Connecticut River bridge between Springfield and Charlestown to close for repairs

The Cheshire Bridge spans the Connecticut River, connecting Springfield, Vt., and Charlestown, N.H., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. The New Hampshire Department of Transportation plans to close the bridge for over eight months to conduct extensive repairs, starting in April 2025. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News / Report For America — Alex Driehaus

Rust is visible underneath the Cheshire Bridge, which connects Springfield, Vt., and Charlestown, N.H., on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. New Hampshire will cover the estimated $6 million cost of replacing rusted elements and repainting the bridge. (Valley News / Report For America - Alex Driehaus) Copyright Valley News. May not be reprinted or used online without permission. Send requests to permission@vnews.com. Valley News / Report For America — Alex Driehaus

By PATRICK O’GRADY

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 02-08-2024 9:46 PM

Modified: 02-11-2024 9:52 PM

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — The Cheshire Bridge linking Charlestown with Springfield will undergo extensive repairs that will require the bridge to be closed to traffic for more than eight months beginning next spring.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation will present information on the project to the public and local officials in Springfield on Monday and in Charlestown on Feb. 21.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation engineer David Scott, the design chief for the project, said this week that DOT will focus its public presentations on the detours for vehicles while the bridge, which carries N.H. Route 11 over the Connecticut River, is closed. He said the DOT plans to advertise the project this fall and begin work in April 2025.

“There are some rust elements underneath that we want to replace and, when those repairs are done, we need to paint it,” Scott said. He said the bridge is expected to be closed for 34 weeks.

The estimated project cost is $6 million and will be paid for entirely by New Hampshire, which owns the bridge, Scott said. The 500-foot, two-lane bridge was constructed in 1930 and until the late 1990s had a toll booth on the New Hampshire side, which was removed through an act of the state legislature. The deck was replaced in 2015, and other repairs have been done throughout its nearly 100-year history.

The closest crossings on the Connecticut River are 10 miles north, where a bridge connects Claremont to Ascutney, and nine miles south, where the Connecticut River Bridge links Walpole, N.H., with Bellows Falls, Vt..

In a news release, the DOT said the goals of the meetings are to present information to the public and solicit input to “ensure that project decisions meet public transportation needs, community goals and protect and enhance the environment.”

Monday’s presentation at the Springfield Municipal Building will be part of the regular Selectboard meeting beginning at 6 p.m. The same presentation will be made on Feb. 21 at the Charlestown Selectboard meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. in the community room of the municipal building on Main Street.

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