United States Navy Seabees Bridge

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.

United States Navy Seabees Bridge
and Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge
1937 bridge on the left, 2003 bridge on the right,
from the New Hampshire side
(2013)
Coordinates42°53′02″N 72°33′07″W
CarriesNH 9[1]
CrossesConnecticut River
LocaleBrattleboro, Vermont to Chesterfield, New Hampshire
Characteristics
Designsteel two-hinged through arch bridge
History
Opened1888, 1937, 2003
Location

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

  • 1937 bridge's award plaque
    1937 bridge's award plaque
  • Both bridges from the road of the 1937 bridge, looking up
    Both bridges from the road of the 1937 bridge, looking up
  • Suspender cable attach point on the 2003 bridge
    Suspender cable attach point on the 2003 bridge
  • Plaque re-dedicating the old bridge
    Plaque re-dedicating the old bridge

See also

References
  1. 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
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