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Franklin
County, Massachusetts
(WGN 21-06-04#2)
(WGCB MA-06-04#2): (1951) A single span Long truss 94' over the
Mill River. Located: In Charlemont, Massachusetts. Directions: Traveling north on I-91, take Exit 26, bearing left around the rotary and under the interstate. Take SR 2 west to Charlemont, Massachusetts to left on Heath Road, SR 8A. The bridge will be on the left beside a temporary bridge. Town records indicate that at a March 1880 meeting it was voted to build a bridge near Adam Bissel's. A committee was selected to supervise the construction of the bridge at a cost of $600. A important factor in the construction of the original bridge was caused by increased traffic when the Davis Mine opened in 1882. Ore wagons, carrying iron and sulfur, crossed the bridge for many years. In the late 1940s, the bridge was condemned. Plans were made to build a replacement bridge which was constructed in 1951 at a cost of $54,962.75. It is built of Douglas Fir from Oregon, with the roof of 18-inch clear Cedar shingles. The side walls are of matched boards, creosoted, with the flooring of 3 x 6 inch planks, set edgewise. The bridge was closed to all traffic when photographed on September 15, 2003. According to an article in the Milliford Daily News, the state proposed replacing the structure with a new modern steel and concrete bridge but the citizens of Charlemont, Massachusetts, in what has been referred to as "the standoff in Charlemont," banded together and for the past 14 years fought the project, preferring to keep their "covered bridge." The state owns the bridge but the town controls the crossing thus the stalemate. State engineers finally agreed this winter that the bridge could be repaired using wood and a few steel strengthening bars. The Massachusetts State Higway Department has completed the design for the rehibilitation project with
construction to begin in the spring of 2006 and completed in the summer of 2007. The structure will once again carry vehicular traffic. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places February 26, 2004. (Sep 2003) |
