Ed. Note: Here is a story I wrote yesterday for the Eagle Times.  CCB

4-24-07

DOT:  Covered Bridge for Cold River …in 2008

 by Chuck Bingaman, Contributing Writer

             ( Walpole) In a report issued Tuesday—three months after the January hearing—the New Hampshire Department of Transportation announced that it had accepted Walpole ’s request for a modern covered timber bridge spanning the Cold River . 

             But, due to delays in getting the design specifications set, the bridge will not be  complete until summer 2008, not Novenber 2007 as envisioned in January.

             According to project manager Bob Landry, the Department and the Board of Commissioners considered all citizen input and concluded that the design put forward by Benson Woodworking “blends aesthetics, functionality and state-of-the-art engineering that would create a landmark” in the town.  This means that DOT has adopted Benson’s proposed design as its own and will begin the process of requesting construction bids.

             The report also noted that the design “would signify and commemorate the reconstruction of the Cold River area after the devastating flood of October, 2005.”

             According to David Scott, DOT In-House Design Chief for Bridges and departmental point man for working out the design with Benson engineers, the requests for bids will be announced formally on June 19, and “any pre-qualified contractor with experience in this size of bridge project will be able to bid on the project.”  Bidders will have three weeks and two days to submit bids, and the chosen bidder will have two weeks to file additional documents that must be sent to and approved by the Governor and Executive Council before the contract may be signed and work begun.  Hence it will likely be at least mid-August before construction begins.

              Benson Woodworking, the Walpole firm that conceived the design and contributed the time and effort in putting it together, is not such a “pre-qualified contractor.”  But it is possible that Benson will end up being a sub-contractor or supplier of the timber sections of the bridge.  It is also possible that the prime contractor may decide to look else where for the timber pieces.

             In answer to some concerns raised at the January hearing, the Commissioners made the following findings…

 ·        As the proposed design includes a concrete bridge deck, it will allow for the placement of a crashworthy, standard steel 2-bar rail system that would redirect any errant vehicle back into the roadway and prevent it from going over or through the rail or damaging vertical timber trusses.

 ·        Having checked with French bridge authorities in charge of maintenance of similar steel/concrete/wood structures, the Department concluded that such bridges are no more problematic for maintenance than more standard bridge designs.  The French, the report noted, use salt as their deicing agent of choice, and salt does not have a negative impact on timber sections.

 ·        The DOT did conclude that the timber/steel,concrete design would cost about $200,000 more than a standard concrete single span bridge.  But the Federal Emergency Management Agency is firm in offering to pay a little over $1.5 million for the project, and the state of New Hampshire is willing to cover any remainder.

 ·        The DOT does not participate in placing nearby power lines under ground; if Walpole wants them underground, it will have to pay for it itself, although DOT would assist in coordinating that work.

 ·        The salvaged granite blocks form the destroyed double arched bridge will be used as the facing for the wing walls on the west side of the bridge.

 ·        The DOT was able to increase the span’s length from 97 to 102 feet.

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