BRATTLEBORO — Town officials from Brattleboro and Hinsdale, New Hampshire remain at odds over the disposition of the two bridges over the Connecticut River that connect the two states with an island in the middle.
Hinsdale officials resolutely support demolition while the Brattleboro Selectboard has backed longstanding plans for reuse with a community and recreation component.
Despite a July 25 meeting with leaders from both towns and from government agencies in Vermont and New Hampshire, nothing much has changed, with both towns holding to their stances and those attending from Brattleboro remaining hopeful a mutual solution will be found.
“We had a productive conversation with NHDOT [New Hampshire Department of Transportation] and the town of Hinsdale,” Brattleboro Selectboard vice-chair Oscar Heller said, “and I continue to be optimistic about the long-term future for the bridges.”
Bridging the gap
Earlier in July, the Brattleboro Selectboard voted to ask their counterparts in Hinsdale to reopen negotiations in order to preserve the Charles Dana and Anna Hunt Marsh bridges for bikes and pedestrians now that a new bridge is carrying vehicular traffic across the Connecticut River.
Selectboard members Amanda Ellis-Thurber and Heller voted in favor, with Elizabeth McLoughlin voting against and Peter Case abstaining.
After the selectboard’s request was forwarded to Hinsdale Town Manager Katherine Lynch, she responded on July 15 that the Hinsdale board had met the previous day and “decided that they do not want to entertain a joint meeting with the Brattleboro board to discuss the renovation of the bridge/island area.”
“Their decision remained firm,” Lynch wrote. “They wish for the bridges to be demolished instead of spending $9 million of taxpayer dollars to renovate them and the island.”
Lynch went on to note an upcoming meeting on July 25 hosted by commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation Assistant David Rodrigue to discuss the bridge projects.
“The state has measured and is having gates built to install on either ends of the bridges to help reduce the influx of negative behavior on the island, which is a huge tax burden for Hinsdale,” Lynch wrote. “Hinsdale is moving forward and we are very hopeful that the town of Brattleboro will stand with us, as we have always aided each other’s communities when in need.”
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation is paying for the gates, which are estimated to cost $50,000 and will be erected in a few weeks. Federal funding for the bridge rehabilitation has already been received by New Hampshire.
Back to the future
The original agreement between Brattleboro and Hinsdale over the bridges was forged a decade ago. It included a stipulation for pedestrian and bicycle use over the century-old spans that should be economically and recreationally beneficial to both towns.
Hinsdale owns 93% of the bridges and Brattleboro owns the remaining 7%. The island they are on — considered part of New Hampshire — is owned by Great River Hydro, based in Massachusetts.
After the new $62 million General John Stark Memorial Bridge was opened in November 2024 just downriver, Hinsdale Selectboard members voted unanimously to ask the state of New Hampshire to reject the $9.3 million plan to rehabilitate the spans for foot traffic, fearing subsequent maintenance costs and a myriad of safety issues.
However, it has recently come to light that it will take the New Hampshire Department of Transportation several years longer than initially estimated to rehabilitate or raze the spans.
And for the bridges to come down, Brattleboro has to agree. Ellis-Thurber, the Brattleboro selectboard member, still has hopes a meeting of the minds is possible.
“We have a lot of empathy because the public safety responsibility is landing on Hinsdale, and they have expressed they have the financial burden,” she said, noting the cost of installing the gates.
“The way it stands now, without any agreement with Brattleboro, they’re holding the bag,” Ellis-Thurber said.
Town officials plan another meeting with their Hinsdale counterparts in August to see if they would consider new proposals from Brattleboro.
“The answer could be ‘no,’ but that would mean Brattleboro would have to shift to join them [in agreeing to raze the bridges], and I don’t see that anytime soon,” Ellis-Thurber said. “And we have to make a proposal that wouldn’t cost Brattleboro taxpayers anything more.”
For Ellis-Thurber, a big part of the issue is “fundamentally about change.” Reusing the spans for foot traffic, as she sees it, not only offers both residents and visitors access to the river, but also builds community engagement.
“If we take them down, sure, it’s a change, but we abandon the opportunity to rehab an historic bridge as well as the opportunity to link two communities that are connected by the Connecticut River.” Still, she said she understands the pressure of financial worry on both towns, and that those economic stressors can make it difficult for town officials to “to think creatively right now.”
State Sen. Wendy Harrison, D-Windham, who also attend the July 25 development meeting, said she would like to see the original plan to accommodate pedestrians and bicycles succeed.
“The plan, for a number of years, has been to rehab the two historic bridges, and I think we should proceed with that plan,” she said. “It will not only help bring visitors, but there are people who move to places because of the trails. Outdoor recreation is very much prized by young adults, whom we would love to have more of in our community.”
For Harrison, the bottom line — given a four-year wait to do much of anything and what many see as an economic and community-building opportunity in the making — is that “the two towns need to work together.”
“It’s not going to be solved immediately, or implemented immediately, so what we really need is a long-term plan,” Harrison said.
At the July 25 meeting, Harrison read a statement from State Rep. Mollie S. Burke, D-Windham-8.
“I understand the concerns of the town of Hinsdale and my hope is that we can work out a solution that addresses those concerns while also allowing a vision for social and recreational use of the island by both towns that was envisioned in the original bridge replacement plan,” Burke wrote.
“The transformation of the West River swimming hole at the former cornfield in Brattleboro into a family-friendly spot happened after the development of West River Park and its use by numerous citizens and sports teams,” she added. “The same outcome could result with use of the island.”
