Photo courtesy of VTrans
The bridge across the Barton River, first built in 1956, is located between the town’s Red Sky Trading store and Bean Hill Road.
On Aug. 22, officials in the small, northern Vermont town of Glover learned from the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) about its proposal to replace a bridge road deck that carries vehicle traffic along state Highway 16 through the Orleans County community.
The bridge across the Barton River, first built in 1956, is located between the town's Red Sky Trading store and Bean Hill Road.
Members of the Glover Selectboard were told the construction is currently projected to start around 2027-2028., the Newport Daily Express said Aug. 25.
Additionally, VTrans noted that it only expects the bridge to be closed for a maximum of 21 days, possibly less, and at least some of the work might be performed at night. Glover officials and residents, though, will be allowed to give input on the best timing for the closure.
The transportation agency is already working on a temporary pedestrian bridge, and plans call for cars and trucks to use an offsite detour. Due to highway interactions near the project site, VTrans noted that a one-lane bridge construction is not ideal, and a temporary bridge is not feasible.
VTrans, which owns the structure, estimates that the replacement cost of the structure is anticipated to be $2.7 million. The federal government will pay 80 percent of the project's cost, and the state will pick up the remaining 20 percent.
The Daily Express viewed a VTrans PowerPoint presentation that noted the bridge deck is in fair condition, but with large delamination and deep spalling. In addition, the small structure's railing is obsolete and needs to be upgraded to include a more modern bridge railing style. Improvements also are required at the nearby intersection of Vt. 16 and Bean Hill Road.
VTrans Explored Its Options Before Construction Decision Was Made
Laura Stone, a scoping engineer with VTrans, told the Newport news source that, typically, bridge decks like that found on the 68-year-old Glover bridge are designed to last about 40 to 50 years.
"It's reached the end of its intended design life," she said. "It's time to do it. The deck is deteriorating. If this went on for another 10 years without having work done, we might start seeing deck popouts and [the need for] emergency repairs."
"Deck popouts" would seem to be a fairly self-explanatory term, but Stone clarified that they occur when concrete pops out of a bridge deck, and, as a result, require the installation of fortifying steel plates.
However, she stressed that VTrans inspectors regularly check the bridge, and Stone and her colleagues assured the Glover Selectboard that the bridge is safe. She added that the replacement project is currently in its early, definition stage.
"This is where we identify the environmental resources, the cultural resources surrounding the [bridge], and the constraints surrounding the structure," Stone explained.
VTrans also evaluated project alternatives, she noted, the product of which is a scoping report.
"We have a recommended alternative. Part of the process is that we have a public participating piece, which is where we are now. We really want to build consensus towards our recommended alternative."
The alternatives that the state agency studied included taking no action on the bridge, but based on the deterioration of the deck, VTrans quickly crossed that idea off its list.
Another considered option was making fixes to the deck where workers would remove and repair the deteriorating concrete, a lot of which would take place underneath the bridge. According to Stone, however, a big effort would be needed to try to prevent that from contaminating the Barton River below, and the state would only get about a 15-year design life out of a deck repair.
The state also briefly considered a superstructure that would replace the deck and the beams, or a full replacement that would replace all bridge elements.
VTrans' next steps in the project will be to consider and evaluate comments received at the Aug. 22 meeting in Glover. The department also will proceed with the recommended alternative unless they hear something that might make them reconsider, after which it will start developing conceptual plans to distribute to the town for comments.
Following the recent presentation, Glover Selectboard Member David Simmons told the Newport Daily Express that he was amazed VTrans could complete the bridge replacement effort in just three weeks. He also noted the importance of including a short-term pedestrian bridge.
Among the questions raised at the Selectboard meeting included the possibility of replacing the bridge deck during times of the year when traffic is light, such as right at the end of the school year, but VTrans and Glover officials noted that they had only a few days to decide. There also was talk about traffic visibility turning onto Vt. 16 from the town's side roads, the newspaper reported.
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