Free: New Hampshire Bridge
By Margaret Foster | Online Only | Aug. 25, 2009
One of only two iron truss bridges left in New Hampshire is slated to be replaced next spring, but the town of Salisbury, N.H., is trying to find a new owner for its 1893 bridge.
It's offering the Pingree Bridge for free to anyone who can move the 77-foot-long structure. So far, there have been six potential takers, according to Joseph Laycox, chairman of Salisbury's board of selectmen.
"We have a couple of serious interests," Laycox says. "We have to do what's right for our city, which is put the new bridge in."
The town says it must replace the bridge because, at 17 feet wide, it's too narrow for modern fire engines. The Pingree Bridge serves fewer than 10 residences, but safety is still a priority.
The town will work with the state historic preservation office to place an easement on the bridge so it can't be scrapped for metal.
"The problem was, no one was sure how long the repairs would last. This bridge was rehabbed 20 years ago, and it's back into a condition that's not great," says Rita Walsh, senior preservation planner at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc., who is overseeing the Section 106 review process for the Pingree Bridge. "In the short term, the existing bridge seemed to present a lower cost alt but the concern was maintaining it in the future."
If there are no takers, however, the bridge will be removed early next year. A replacement bridge is scheduled to be constructed in the spring of 2010.
"I think we can work something out for this one," Walsh says. "If nothing else, it will be stored."
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