BELLOWS FALLS — The Vilas Bridge that spans the Connecticut River and links Bellows Falls and North Walpole, N.H., may have moved up the list to No. 8 in New Hampshire's 2011 bridge priority list. But according to New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Bridge Design Administrator Mark Richardson, it has dropped to No. 23 on this year's list.
This came as disappointment to Bellows Falls and Rockingham residents, who feel the Vilas Bridge is critical to their economy.
Meanwhile, on the alternate Arch Bridge, which is seeing considerably more traffic since the closure, an emergency operations exercise is being planned for mid-October.
The Vilas Bridge was closed to traffic in 2009 because of a deteriorating deck, prompting the Vermont Legislature to put forth J.R.H. 14, a resolution that encourages Vermont officials to continue to urge New Hampshire to move this project to the top of the “to-do” list. NHDOT and Vermont's Agency of Transportation (AOT) own the bridge jointly, but New Hampshire owns 93 percent of the bridge, and Vermont 7 percent, giving NHDOT the lead on decisions regarding the span.
Funding shortages and priorities for the state of New Hampshire have been at the heart of what seems like a very long process for local Vermont residents.
Richardson said that the drop on the priority list “is a result of reassessing the need for addressing this bridge, based on other deficient bridges that do not have alternate crossings so close by.”
“The financial reality of limited funding sources and amounts that are available to the department has led to many projects being shifted and/or delayed,” in the department's 10-year plan.
He said the plan will be revised over the next two years, which may provide the opportunity to change the year in which the reconstruction of the Vilas Bridge could occur, depending on funding.
Richardson told town officials that he reviewed the listing for this project in NHDOT's 10-Year Plan for 2013-2022 and it “indicates that Preliminary Engineering (PE) funds are programmed for Federal Fiscal Year 2013, in addition to the PE funds currently authorized. Although this will enable us to initiate the engineering design of this bridge rehabilitation project, there are no construction funds listed at this time in the 10-Year Plan.”
He said he interpreted that to mean “that construction work is deferred from FFY 2015 beyond the limits of this draft 10-Year Plan [until] after 2022.”
Richardson was clear that, should funding become available sooner, that could very easily change.
“It is our goal to continue with the engineering efforts to perhaps even have contract plans completed within the next three years, so that it would be ready for construction earlier if additional funds are available,” he said.
At a June 28 special meeting with officials from communities on both sides of the bridge, as well as Vermont and New Hampshire officials from the NHDOT and transportation planners from the Windham Regional Commission (WRC), NHDOT in-house design chief David Scott was asked to speak to the concerns of the Vermont community.
Scott said the bridge had been determined to be salvageable.
'No money for this bridge'
The reason it was unclear when exactly the bridge would be tackled by the state of New Hampshire was that planners there expect cutbacks in federal funding by some $40 million dollars to $100 million. This lowers the priority of fixing a bridge that has an alternate route across the river between the communities of Walpole and Bellows Falls when other communities have no such second way across.
The state decided to put the bridge on the “deferred status” list. “New Hampshire has no money for this bridge,” Scott said.
Mike Hedges, of the Vermont AOT's Structures Section, told the special meeting that Vermont will do its best to try to match New Hampshire's schedule.
“However, New Hampshire is in the driver's seat,” he said, noting that the AOT is prepared to offer assistance with design and construction when the time comes.
In a letter to Rockingham Selectboard Chair Thomas MacPhee dated Aug. 12, NHDOT Commissioner Christopher Clement said the state of New Hampshire would be happy to discuss “any funding arrangement whereby Vermont would contribute more than a seven percent share of construction and maintenance obligations” for the Vilas Bridge repairs.
Clement also noted that costs of putting a temporary bridge atop the existing one were rejected, as the estimated costs - a similar bridge cost $2.67 million - “were not financially feasible.”
In response to concerns about the additional load on the alternate Arch Bridge from re-routed traffic, Clement noted studies of the Arch Bridge indicated that it could easily withstand the combined traffic load from both bridges, from a structural standpoint.
Clement continued, noting an in-depth inspection and testing of the Vilas Bridge had been done in 2010-2011, finding the bridge spandrels and arches sound enough to be rehabilitated and retained, “but the entire deck and floor system needed to be red. Considerable repairs to the abutments” are also needed, he wrote.
“NHDOT anticipates that preliminary design efforts will take place in mid-2013 with the goal of further refining rehabilitation needs, more accurately determining cost estimates, and further developing bridge rehabilitation plans,” Clement concluded.
Arch Bridge congestion
Since the Vilas Bridge closed three years ago, the nearby Arch Bridge has seen increased traffic as the only remaining river crossing between Bellows Falls and North Walpole.
Complaints of traffic being backed up at certain times of the day led the Rockingham Selectboard and the Bellows Falls Trustees last week to turn the the intersection of Arch Bridge and Rockingham Street in Bellows Falls into a three-way stop.
Municipal Manager Tim Cullenen told the Bellows Falls Trustees in August that he met with Highway Superintendent Mike Hindes as well as Senior Planner Matt Mann from WRC to discuss the proposal. Cullenen told the board that the WRC was not in favor of a change and that Fire Chief William Weston was also opposed.
However, Mann clarified later, saying, “I don't object to the three-way stop, but based on the information gathered, I recommended there not be a three-way stop.”
Village Trustees, however, voted to install an “all way stop,” the signs for which are up and “working well,” according to Cullenen. “No accidents but a few sudden stops. The [Bellows Falls] Police Department has issued a couple of warnings.”
He noted that red lights and lane dividers had been ordered and “will be going up as soon as they get in.”
“The dividers will limit traffic coming off the bridge to one lane only,” said Culenen, and added of the signs that “they are the bendable type in case a truck runs them over.”
All are expected to arrive in roughly two weeks.