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PAPER MILL BRIDGE PORTAL DAMAGED
North Bennington, Vt., June 5 -- Dick Wilson, President of the New York State Covered Bridge Society reports that the portal of the new Paper Mill Bridge in Bennington Vt. has already been hit by an oversize truck.
        "I was there last week," wrote Wilson. "Damage is not too great, but the portal trim is splintered."
        The newly reconstructed bridge had been opened to traffic July 13, 2000, one month short of a year go.

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GROUND BROKEN FOR COVERED BRIDGE MUSEUM
Bennington, Vt., June 6 -- "It's now official," wrote John J. Dostal to vermontbridges dot com. "Off and running. Lots of planning to do."
        With the above brief note Dostal enclosed a clipping from the BENNINGTON BANNER by Whitney Gates.
        The museum is to be constructed similar to the Bennington Area covered bridges as a wing of the existing Bennington Center for the Arts (BCA) building owned and operated by Bruce Laumeister.
        The groundbreaking ceremony for the was held adjacent to the BCA Tuesday morning. Construction of the museum is expected to be complete in approximately eight to 10 months, the article said.
        For more about the new museum, check out www.benningtonbanner.com

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Vermont Life Magazine Goofs on North Hartland CB Report
Our beloved and highly regarded "Vermont Life Magazine" in its Winter 2001 issue reported the completion of the "twin" covered bridge over the Ottauquechee River dam causeway in North Hartland. In an otherwise fine short article, the cost of the wooden span was not correctly cited. The goof would not have been mentioned here except that it offers a serious misconception on the true cost of a covered bridge to the tax-paying public. Bridgers should be aware of the article and be prepared to refute the statement of cost contained therein.
      Jan Lewandoski, builder of the covered bridge wrote the following letter to the editor of "Vermont Life Magazine," and shared it with us:
      "While I appreciate the mention of the new covered bridge my crew and I constructed in North Hartland this past summer (Vermont Life, Winter 2001, "Hartland Has Its Double Covered Bridges Again"), the cost figures mentioned were extremely erroneous and will give readers the wrong idea about the economic rationality of wooden bridges.
      Your writer stated that the new wooden bridge cost $874,000 as compared with $101,000 for a modern steel and concrete structure. In reality, I built and installed the new covered bridge at North Hartland for $175,900. $101,000 is an estimate, near but probably somewhat below, the cost of a concrete and steel superstructure (the roadway and the steel beams supporting it) across that same span. These are the two figures to be compared. Since concrete bridges have a hard time surviving more than 50 years, while the average age of covered wooden bridges in Vermont is 140 years, they are arguably a good buy.
      The Town of Hartland may have spent $847,000 on the project, but most of that money was for coffer dams, new abutments, a temporary bridge, wing walls, roadway approaches, and landscaping by contractors other than myself. These additional costs would be the same for any sort of bridge being installed: concrete, steel or wood.
            Yours truly, Jan Lewandoski

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Thetford's Union Village Bridge Out For Bids
The Union Village Covered Bridge (45-09-05) restoration project was advertised for bids by the Vermont Agency of Transportation on December 12. The bids will be opened January 11, 2002.

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Arsonists Target New Brunswick's
Hartland Bridge

Canada's Maritime Provinces appear to be under siege by arsonists.
      The latest in a wave of set fires took place over the November 3 weekend with an attempt to torch the worlds longest covered bridge in Hartland, NB, when arsonists burned several farm buildings. The damage to the bridge is said to be minor.       "Outraged" townspeople are asking for tougher sentences for perpetrators. There is similar anger in Stanley, NB where arsonists set fire to two buildings on the fairgrounds, and in Lunenburg, NS which received "destructive arson attacks," in both areas during this year's Halloween celebrations.
      The RCMP have set up a toll-free line to help their investigation into the Lunenburg fire that destroyed 250-year-Old St. John's Anglican Church, the second-oldest Anglican church in Canada. No arrests have been made.
      In Hartland. a 33 year-old was charged with four counts of arson Monday and sent for a psychiatric assessment. Police say others may be charged.
      Security was stepped up in the summer after arson destroyed another New Brunswick covered bridge.
      The 1,283-foot Hartland Covered Bridge (WGN 55- 02-07) crosses the St. Johns River in seven spans.

[Ed.- This report is based on a clipping from the Gazette, Montreal, Tuesday, November 6, 2001, forwarded by Gerald Arbour through Dick Roy, NSPCB.]

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Plans made for Weathersfield's
Upper Falls Covered Bridge

Town of Weathersfield, Vt. - The Select Board for the Town of Weathersfield held a public hearing to invite public comment and discussion of issues regarding the restoration of the Upper Falls Covered Bridge on Tuesday, November 6, 2001, at 7:00 p.m., at the Weathersfield Elementary School on Route 106 in Perkinsville, Vermont.
      Among the issues discussed were the proposed closure of the covered bridge during the restoration project, weight limitations after the restoration, and other project parameters.
      The meeting was attended by the Town Manager, the Selectboard, Salmond Covered Bridge Committee, Windsor County Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), highway foreman, Police chief, fire department, VAOT Project Manager Roger Whitcomb, VCBS Bridge-watch Chair Neil Daniels and concerned residents.
      The Covered Bridge structure is BR66 on Town Highway 20, Project number BHO 1442(29). Consensus of participants of the November 6 meeting estimated the total cost to be near $450,000. The earliest date for construction to begin is 2003 according to Whitcomb, if there are no issues concerning the Right-of-way for the temporary bridge needed while construction is in progress. The meeting determined that the temporary bridge will not be needed, said Daniels.
      At the Selectboard meeting held November 19, The town manager proposed to establish a 24,000-pound design load on the bridge. Neil Daniels, South Windsor County Transportation committee "TAC" appointee and VCBS Bridge-watch chair, had been invited and given an opportunity to speak to the issue. Daniels convinced the Selectboard to adopt a 12,000-pound design load and plan to close the bridge for reconstruction. This should set in motion the federal funding request and engineering, Daniels said.
      The 12,000 pound design load plan will allow most chord, lattice and floor beam members to remain, said Daniels.
       The last major work was done in 1973 adding a fifth lower-lower chord member inside. New structural work will be to eliminate decayed sections of chord and lattice members and remove fifth chord.

[Editor's note: The Downers, or Upper Falls Bridge is listed in the World Guide as 45-14-08]

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Clarendon Select Board chooses Green
CLARENDON - According to the Rutland Herald, the Kingsley Covered Bridge (45-11-03) will be getting a new roof next year.
      The town was informed that VTrans would replace the existing roof with a standing seam metal roof at a cost of $17,000. The Town's share of the cost will be five percent: $850.00. This is part of the National Covered Bridge Preservation Program grant of $461,600 to replace roofs on 38 covered bridges statewide.
      The Select Board felt the funds would be better spent addressing a carpenter ant infestation and other bridge repairs, however the grant money is earmarked only for roofs. The Board accepted the offer and chose green roofing.
[Thanks to Irene Barna for forwarding the article]

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Ohio Counties Receive Federal Funding for CBs
"Bridges and Byways," the Ohio Historic Bridge Association journal notes that the following Ohio counties have received Federal funding for covered bridge renovations: Brown County, Brown Bridge 35-08-04, $192,000 and New Hope Bridge, 35-08-05, $220,000. Noble County, Manchester Bridge, 35-61-33, $120,000 and Parrish Bridge, $192,000. Jackson County, Byer Bridge, 35-40-08, $284,342, and Preble County, Brubaker Bridge, 35-68-06, $35,200 (this last for the preliminary engineering work).

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Randall Covered Bridge Included in Lyndon
Historical Society Fund-Raiser

By Virginia Downs, VCBS members.

Lyndon Historical society members have mounted a $50,000 fund-raising campaign this year to restore four historic landmarks, among them the Randall Covered Bridge. The bridge is critically in need of abutment work as well as roof alignment and roof restoration. The amount needed for the restoration is $15,000.

If you took part in the V.C.B.S.'s September gathering in Lyndon, you will recall that this town has the distinction of being the "Covered Bridge Capitol" of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom.

If you would like to contribute toward the restoration of the bridge, donations, which are tax-deductible, should be sent to: Lyndon Heritage Fund, P.O. Box 85, Lyndon Center, VT 05850.

Special attention should be made that your contribution is intended for the covered bridge renovation.

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Joe Nelson, P.O Box 267, Jericho, VT 05465-0267, jcnelson@together.net

No part of this web site may be reproduced without the written permission of Joseph C. Nelson
This file posted June 10, 2001, revised December 28, 2003