United States Navy Seabees Bridge
United States Navy Seabees Bridge and Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 42°53′02″N 72°33′07″W / 42.88389°N 72.55194°W |
Carries | NH 9[1] |
Crosses | Connecticut River |
Locale | Brattleboro, Vermont to Chesterfield, New Hampshire |
Characteristics | |
Design | steel two-hinged through arch bridge |
History | |
Opened | 1888, 1937, 2003 |
Location | |
The United States Navy Seabees Bridge is a through-steel two-hinged arch bridge over the Connecticut River located between Brattleboro, Vermont, and Chesterfield, New Hampshire. It carries the Franklin Pierce Highway, New Hampshire Route 9, which connects to Vermont Route 9 on the Vermont side.[1] It runs parallel to the Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge which it replaced, but which has been retained as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
History and construction
In 1888, a suspension bridge was built over the Connecticut River between Brattleboro and Chesterfield. It lasted until 1936, when it was heavily damaged by a flood. Divers have confirmed that pieces of the old bridge still lie on the riverbed under the current bridges.
In 1937, a steel arch bridge was constructed as a replacement. That same year, it received from the American Institute of Steel Construction the "Annual Award for Merit for Most Beautiful Steel Bridge, Class C".
In 2003 a new steel arch bridge was built, because of concerns about the safety of the old bridge. The new bridge was built for heavier loads. It has a wider deck, more overhead clearance, and utilizes suspender cables instead of thin suspender beams. The old bridge was retained as a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, and in 2010 was named by the State of New Hampshire for the former Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court
See also
References
- ^ a b VERMONT v. NEW HAMPSHIRE 289 U.S. 593 (1933) says the river, and therefore the bridge, is all in New Hampshire.
- ^ Whittlesey, Charles W. (1938). Crossing and Re-Crossing the Connecticut River. New Haven, Connecticut: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. pp. 24–25.
- ^ "History" on the Chesterfield Arch Bridge Beautification and Preservation Society website