Bridge reopens after 47 days

The bridge had shut down April 6, forcing detours to make connections between Stowe village and the businesses and activities that line the Mountain Road. However, the speedy construction work got the bridge back in business before Memorial Day weekend.

The reopening was a historic moment, and about 100 people, including a class from Stowe Elementary School, turned out. After brief speeches, the dignitaries piled into an antique WDEV truck and the Stowe Fire Department’s antique fire truck, which became the first vehicles to cross the new bridge.

After that, the Stowe schoolkids raced across the bridge, and then raced back, as adults went over and back at a slower pace.

As soon as the ceremonies ended, the bridge opened to traffic — and there were already seven cars and a bicyclist lined up on the Mountain Road side, waiting to cross. One man had parked his Subaru in the traffic lane half an hour before the ceremony begin, intending to be the first civilian to drive across the new bridge.

As the cars drove on the bridge, one woman leaned out her window and hollered, “Don’t put the pedestrian thing back up! I don’t like it!”

The next generation

Sue Minter, the state transportation secretary, had pounced on the Stowe students as soon as they arrived for the ceremony. She herded them into the area behind where the speakers stood, and then talked about how the new bridge is an investment in Vermont’s next generation.

The bridge is a critical project for Stowe, said Town Manager Charles Safford, a key to the local economy. He praised Minter for taking the lead in finishing the job quickly.

Minter said the bridge is an example of lessons learned after the 2011 devastation caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

One key lesson: If you want to replace a bridge quickly, close the road. Keeping a road open during bridge construction adds one-third to the cost, and usually extends the work through more than one construction season.

Another key: Parts of the bridge were prefabricated, and arrived in Stowe ready for installation.

Chris Chauvin, whose family has owned CCS Constructors since 1967, said as contractors get more practice with accelerated bridge construction techniques, they get better, faster, cheaper.

“It does inconvenience people for a while,” he said, “but the technology keeps improving, the equipment improves, and the more of these jobs we do, the better at them we get.”

Minter saluted Wayne Simmons, the innovation leader at the Vermont Agency of Transportation, for finding ways to build bridges in half the time at half the cost. Simmons, standing in the crowd, shyly acknowledged the applause he received.

“We’re seeing this all over the state,” state Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe, said of the rapid bridge-replacement technique. “It’s unbelievable work.”

She thanked townspeople for understanding the importance of replacing the bridge, and putting up with the dislocations.

Billy Adams, chairman of the Stowe Select Board, said there were a lot of concerns about the impact of the bridge project, “but the state really came through.” He thanked the bridge neighbors and the community as a whole for being patient and understanding through a frustrating time.

Job not done yet

After the bridge closed April 6, crews dismantled and removed the old bridge, placed new bridge abutments, installed a new line for the town water system, slid five 130-foot-long, 20-ton steel girders into place, and put a bridge deck atop the girders. The roadway approaches on either end were reconstructed and repaved.

The bridge may be open, but construction has not been completed. That work won’t be finished until well into August.

The remaining work includes constructing a sidewalk along the edge of the bridge and replacing the scenic, covered-bridge-style walkway for pedestrians to use, even though some people think removal of the old walkway opened up a lovely view. The walkway has been a prime photo-taking location for tourists.

New curbs and two more layers of pavement on the approaches will be installed, forms under the bridge deck will be removed, and an old pier beneath the bridge will be hauled away.

Chauvin said the pier work is the biggest task left, but it had to wait until the state ban on construction work in rivers ends on June 1. He said it “will be a bit challenging coming out,” because the new steel girders in the bridge are a lot deeper than the old ones.