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Coos
County, New Hampshire and Essex County, Vermont
New Hampshire No.
33 (WGN 29-04-07/45-05-02) (WGCB NH-04-07/VT-05-02): (1912; rehabilitated
1981) A single-span Howe truss 145' 8" over the Connecticut River.
Located: The south edge of Lemington, Vermont off SR 102 on the road
to Columbia, New Hampshire. Directions: About 9 miles
northeast of jct. NH 105 at North Stratford, New Hampshire, on US 3 to
Columbia, New Hampshire, then a left 0.1 mile to the bridge. This is the
third bridge at this site. The first bridge was lost to a windstorm.
The current bridge was built by Charles Babbitt to replace the bridge which
had been destroyed by fire started by a spark from a railroad locomotive
in 1911. The present 1912 span rests on abutments of an earlier bridge
that had been reinforced with concrete. It was rehabilitated by the
state in 1981 at a cost of $143,000. It is the most northerly Connecticut
River bridge connecting Vermont and New Hampshire. The structure is supported
by a fourteen-panel Howe truss, set on abutments consisting of the dry
granite block abutments from the 1910 bridge, that have been reinforced
with concrete including wing walls, except the north-northwest downstream
side which has a retaining wall instead of a wingwall. The downstream
side is completely covered with dark weathered vertical boarding to protect
it from the weather and the upstream side was left open to provide light.
Dark weathered vertical tongue and groove boarding cover the weather panels
and the portals with the lower edge of the gables diagonally cut in the
upper corners and under the eaves. Narrow trim boards cover the outline
of the entrances. Wide plank guard-rails and a timber wheel guard
extend along both sides of the interior. Unfinished double-plank
guardrails extend out from each side of the south-southeast, or right downstream
portal (New Hampshire side), and rusted steel guardrails extend out from
each side of the north-northwest portal (Vermont side). Longitudinal
thick planking forms the floor and it has a galvanized steel roof that
was installed during the 1981 renovation. The bridge still carries
motor vehicle traffic across the Connecticut River to and from Vermont.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places December 12,
1976. (Oct 2003; Sep 2007) |
