BRATTLEBORO-Town officials from Brattleboro and Hinsdale, New Hampshire remain at odds over the disposition of the two bridges over the Connecticut River that connect the two states with an island in the middle.
Hinsdale officials resolutely support their demolition and the Brattleboro Selectboard has backed longstanding plans for community and recreational reuse ["Brattleboro wants to reopen talks and preserve two bridges," News, July 23].
Despite a July 25 meeting with leaders from both towns and from government agencies in Vermont and New Hampshire, nothing has yet changed appreciably, with both towns holding to their stances and those attending from Brattleboro remaining hopeful a mutual solution will be found.
"We had a productive conversation with NHDOT [New Hampshire Department of Transportation] and the town of Hinsdale, and I continue to be optimistic about the long-term future for the bridges," Oscar Heller, Brattleboro Selectboard vice-chair, said.
"Brattleboro is committed to developing a solution that acknowledges and addresses Hinsdale's concerns, and we've drafted several promising options," he continued. "The status quo, where the bridges remain up but are inaccessible, benefits neither town.
"Our priority is to work with Hinsdale to come up with a path forward," Heller said.
Trying to bridge a gap
Earlier in July, the Brattleboro Selectboard voted to ask their counterparts in Hinsdale to reopen negotiations with them and NHDOT and preserve the Charles Dana and Anna Hunt Marsh bridges for bikes and pedestrians now that a new bridge is carrying vehicular traffic across the Connecticut River there.
Amanda Ellis-Thurber and Heller voted in favor, with Elizabeth McLoughlin voting against and Peter Case abstaining.
After the Brattleboro board's request was forwarded to Hinsdale Town Manager Katherine Lynch, she responded on July 15 on behalf of her board.
She noted that her board had met July 14 and "decided that they do not want to entertain a joint meeting with the Brattleboro board to discuss the renovation of the bridge/island area."
"Their decision remained firm," Lynch wrote. "They wish for the bridges to be demolished instead of spending $9 million of taxpayer dollars to renovate them and the island."
Lynch went on to note an upcoming meeting hosted by NHDOT Assistant Commissioner David Rodrigue, which turned out to be a July 25 meeting attended by Ellis-Thurber and Heller and Brattleboro Planning Commission Chair Sue Fillion, standing in for Brattleboro Town Manager John Potter, who was on vacation. State Sen. Wendy Harrison, D-Windham, also attended the meeting.
She said that the purpose of the conversation was to "discuss the future of bridge/island area and how we can move forward."
"The state has measured and is having gates built to install on either ends of the bridges to help reduce the influx of negative behavior on the island, which is a huge tax burden for Hinsdale," Lynch wrote. "Hinsdale is moving forward and we are very hopeful that the town of Brattleboro will stand with us, as we have always aided each other's communities when in need."
The NHDOT is paying for the gates, which are estimated to cost $50,000 and be erected in a few weeks. Federal funding for the bridge rehabilitation has already been received by New Hampshire.
Back to the future
The original agreement between Brattleboro and Hinsdale regarding the bridges was forged a decade ago.
It included a stipulation for pedestrian and bicycle use of the century-old spans as economically and recreationally beneficial to both towns.
Hinsdale owns 93% of the bridges and Brattleboro owns the remaining 7%. The island they are on - considered part of New Hampshire - is owned by Great River Hydro, based in Massachusetts.
After the new, $62 million General John Stark Memorial Bridge was opened in November 2024 just downriver, Hinsdale Selectboard members voted unanimously to ask the state not to go ahead with the $9.3 million plan to rehabilitate the spans for foot traffic, fearing subsequent maintenance costs as well as myriad safety issues to contend with.
However, it has recently come to light that it will take NHDOT several years after had hereto been thought to rehabilitate or raze the spans.
And for the bridges to come down, Brattleboro has to agree.
Ellis-Thurber also hopes still for a meeting of the minds.
"We have a lot of empathy because the public safety responsibility is landing on Hinsdale, and they have expressed they have the financial burden," she said, noting the cost of installing the gates.
"The way it stands now, without any agreement with Brattleboro, they're holding the bag," Ellis-Thurber said.
Town officials plan another meeting with their Hinsdale counterparts in August to see if they would consider new proposals from Brattleboro.
"The answer could be 'no,' but that would mean Brattleboro would have to shift to join them [in agreeing to raze the bridges], and I don't see that anytime soon," Ellis-Thurber said. "And we have to make a proposal that wouldn't cost Brattleboro taxpayers anything more."
For Ellis-Thurber, a big part of the issue is "fundamentally about change."
And for her, reusing the spans for foot traffic not only offers the communities and visitors' access to the river, but also builds community engagement.
"If we take them down, sure, it's a change, but we abandon the opportunity to rehab an historic bridge as well as the opportunity to link two communities that are connected by the Connecticut River," she says, adding that she understands the pressure of financial worry on both towns.
And that those economic stressors can easily cause town officials to "lack the bandwidth to think creatively right now."
As for Harrison, she'd like to see the original plan to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles succeed.
"The plan, for a number of years, has been to rehab the two historic bridges, and I think we should proceed with that plan," she said.
She noted that the primary reason would be to provide recreational opportunities connecting both towns, each of which has extensive trails.
"It will not only help bring visitors, but there are people who move to places because of the trails," Harrison said. "Outdoor recreation is very much prized by young adults, whom we would love to have more of in our community."
For her, the bottom line, given a four-year wait to do much of anything and what many see as an economic and community-building opportunity in the making, is that "the two towns need to work together anyway."
"It's not going to be solved immediately, or implemented immediately, so what we really need is a long-term plan," Harrison said.
At the July 25 meeting, Harrison read a statement from State Rep. Mollie S. Burke (D-Windham-8).
"I understand the concerns of the town of Hinsdale and my hope is that we can work out a solution that addresses those concerns while also allowing a vision for social and recreational use of the island by both towns that was envisioned in the original bridge replacement plan," Burke wrote.
"The transformation of the West River swimming hole at the former cornfield in Brattleboro into a family-friendly spot happened after the development of West River Park and its use by numerous citizens and sports teams," she added. "The same outcome could result with use of the island."
Burke wrote that she served on the original new Hinsdale Bridge committee along with other representatives from Brattleboro, working with "officials and stakeholders from Hinsdale to help design the new bridge."
"I hope we can now work together to find a solution for the old bridges and the island going forward," she wrote in her statement.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.