United States Navy Seabees Bridge (original) (raw)

Bridge in Vermont to Chesterfield, New Hampshire

United States Navy Seabees Bridgeand Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge
1937 bridge on the left, 2003 bridge on the right,from the New Hampshire side(2013)
Coordinates 42°53′02″N 72°33′07″W / 42.88389°N 72.55194°W / 42.88389; -72.55194 (United States Navy Seabees Bridge)
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
Map

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

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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 Harlan Fiske Stone, who was born in Chesterfield.[2][3]

  1. ^ a b VERMONT v. NEW HAMPSHIRE 289 U.S. 593 (1933) says the river, and therefore the bridge, is all in New Hampshire.
  2. ^ Whittlesey, Charles W. (1938). Crossing and Re-Crossing the Connecticut River. New Haven, Connecticut: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. pp. 24–25.
  3. ^ "History" on the Chesterfield Arch Bridge Beautification and Preservation Society website