BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – On Tuesday, May 18 the Rockingham Selectboard discussed the Depot Street Bridge.
Municipal Manager Scott Pickup explained some of the cost updates for the off-alignment steel bridge option, including $597,000 for a new pedestrian bridge and $230,000 for relocation of utilities.
The town is considering four options for Depot Street Bridge replacement, which span in price from approximately $400,000 to upwards of $1.4 million, each with different timeframes for canal shutdown. Only option two, the off-alignment bridge, would include a separate pedestrian bridge.
Pickup said there were competitive annual state grants for pedestrian improvements and this would be eligible infrastructure that might help offset costs for the new pedestrian bridge.
Rick Cowan asked if they were “rolling the dice” on the extended scarcity events. In a previous meeting, Scott Burbank, project manager of Vanasse Hangen Bruslin, explained that if ISO New England needed Great River Hydro to make more power due to a scarcity event, charges of $120,000 per hour would be added to the project cost.
Pickup said contract language was important, “As a municipality we can’t have an unlimited exposure” to the risks for the fines associated with a scarcity event.
Susan Hammond wondered which option would offer the lowest impact on the canal walls.
Casey Cota of Cota & Cota spoke that commerce and good common sense would lead the town to an off-alignment bridge, which was his original design. Five years ago, Cota had spoken to Chip Stearns, the manager at that time, about the constraints on tractor trailers getting on and off the island. He said if the island was being designed for more commercial business, the road was not big enough for the 53-foot trailers to make the turning radius to the right.
Cota said, “My hope for the board… keep in mind what traffic is going to be sixty years from now.”
He said currently Cota & Cota has 103 employees with over fifty driving the bridges every day. They get 10-12 truckloads daily and also supply fuel for both the town and village.
Cota reminded the board that if the dam went down and either turbines or large transformers needed to be replaced, the island needed truck access. He noted the town would have to build a temporary bridge to divert tractor trailer traffic, costing a half million to a million dollars. He said by choosing the off-alignment bridge, it might save money long term for the town on the Bridge Street Bridge and future closure.
Cota said, “I have hope they will fix the Vilas Bridge someday, before my kids are my age.” He said if our mission was to grow and increase visitors, eliminating the amount of trucks going through downtown was valuable.
Cota said, “I want us to remember having the foresight of being sixty years ahead of where we are today.”
He reminded everyone, “we spent ten million on a middle school… we felt it was a worthwhile investment for our children. I think a worthwhile investment for our children is creating more industry, better jobs… by putting in the infrastructure now to be able to incorporate all of those changes.”
Cota said he looked forward to hearing how the town would move forward.
Hammond asked for a general sense of how the town would pay for the bridge, requesting an estimate of the increase in taxes.
Everett Hammond, past director of public works, voiced his concerns about the potential collapse of the existing concrete bridge which could cause a rippling effect of canal wall damage, extremely high power bills, potential bankruptcy of the town, and loss of life.
He suggested another option for the town; purchasing the land on the west side of the canal to offer tractor trailer trucks the proper turning radius and choosing the steel truss on-alignment.
VTrans and VHB will provide answers at next month’s meeting Wednesday, June 2. The Selectboard voted to begin their summer schedule with meetings on the first Wednesday of each month at 6 p.m. for June, July, and August in the Lower Theatre of the Bellows Falls Opera House. The fall meeting, which is held annually at the Rockingham Meeting House, will be scheduled at a future date.