12-4-06

New Rt.123 Bridge Proposals to Be Floated Tonight

By Charles C. Bingaman, Contributing Writer

            Citizens group Walpole Tomorrow and Walpole building firm Bensonwood will propose new Cold River Bridge designs at a 7:00 p.m. Walpole Town Hall hearing tonight sponsored by the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.

The new span will replace the Rt. 123 Cold River bridge wiped out by the October 2005 flood.

According to IDOT engineer Robert Landry who will conduct the hearing, “the purpose of tonight’s meeting is to solicit input in order to ensure that project decisions meet public needs, community goals, and protect and enhance the environment.”

            Over 30 area residents, mostly from Upper Valley Road, attended a June 28 NHDOT hearing on possible designs for the new bridge.  The issue then was whether to build a new single-span or a two-span, granite-faced bridge that looked much like the old bridge.  According to many that night the design mattered less than getting the new span built as quickly as possible.  Later the Walpole Board of Selectmen selected the single-span, concrete butted box design on the theory that it presented fewer natural resources issues and could be built in a few months’ shorter time than the two-span bridge. 

            In October John Hansel, representing Walpole Tomorrow, petitioned for an additional public hearing on bridge designs and intends at tonight’s hearing to argue for the double-span design in keeping with the earlier look. Hansel’s 50+ signatures appear to represent no abutters to the bridge area or landowners most directly affected by the bridge outage.

 Coincidentally, NHDOT has noted that the original bridge, opened in 1908, was the first one designed by the Department and that that design has considerable historic significance to it.

    In addition to the Hansel proposal, Walpole timber frame builder Bensonwood has been collecting alternative bridge design ideas for contemporary covered bridges that take advantage of state-of-the-art timber engineering, advanced wood technology and the opportunity to make efficient use of steel and concrete components as well.  According to Bensonwood

 "The Koessen (Austria) Bridge, above, which opened to traffic in December 2004 is an example of the type Bensonwood might suggest for the new Cold River Bridge. The Timber Truss design uses a cross gable roof with steel joists supporting roadway. The bridge supports weights exceeding those of the current tentative plan for the Cold River Bridge while costing a comparable amount per unit of length. Photo courtesy of Bensonwood."

engineer Annette Dey, many of these bridges have replaced washed out bridges Austria in recent years as they have proven themselves to be practical, beautiful and cost effective.  Bensonwood has said that it is “open to the possibility of contributing the design and construction engineering as a part of an overall bridge construction effort.”

While conscious of the need to get on with plans for the new bridge, Selectman Sheldon Sawyer said, “we thought it right to give people a hearing.  But at the same time they need to be aware of the time restraints, how the process has taken place so far, and that residents along the Cold River and Upper Valley Road have endured much increased traffic with the bridge out.”

Following tonight’s hearing, NHDOT’s Landry says, “I’ll ask the selectmen to again decide what design the town prefers, and I’ll try to meld that decision into what would be best for the general public.  Natural resource agencies want a single span because of fewer possible problems with river flow.”

Landry is till hoping to advertise for bids in early spring, 2007 and to have construction complete by late fall of next year.  He noted Monday, however, that that timeline may be delayed by the need to purchase some more right of way before construction can begin.

Charles Bingaman may be reached at chuck@chuckbingaman.com.

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