Nov. referendum asks town to commit $130G for bridge replacement

The bridge was fully removed in the fall of 2012 due to liability concerns. (Rochester Voice file photo)

One of two local referenda on November's ballot will ask Lebanon residents if they want to help fund the replacement of the New Bridge Road Bridge.

A $1.3 million replacement project has long been sought after by residents of West Lebanon and Milton as the old bridge was a major thoroughfare transiting the northeast channel of Milton Three Ponds connecting Townhouse and New Bridge roads.

A yes vote on the bridge referendum commits the town to contribute 10 percent of the cost of building the bridge, set at $130,000, according to the referendum.

It should be noted that the estimate for the replacement was projected at $1.4 million four years ago. Maine DOT personnel were unavailable this past week to clarify how the cost may have gone down.

It should also be noted that while the referendum specifies the money would go to fund the project for the 2018-19 fiscal year, New Hampshire DOT officials confirmed to The Rochester Voice this week that the replacement project is slated for fiscal year 2019-20, which begins July 1, 2019.

The old bridge, known affectionately as the "thunder bridge" due to the sound of its wooden planks as vehicles traversed the span, was closed to vehicular traffic in 2010. It was removed completely in the fall of 2012 due to liability concerns after a Maine DOT bridge engineer declared it unsafe for even bicycle and pedestrian traffic.

The referendum to fund the bridge reads as follows:

Shall the Town commit to participate in reconstruction of the New Bridge Road bridge, MDOT project #3717 ID#022244.00, expected to be part of MDOT's 2018/19 work plan, including a commitment to fund a 10% share of the total project costs of approximately $1.3 million, and authorize the selectmen to enter an agreement with the states of Maine and New Hampshire and the Town of Milton, NH and execute any other documents necessary to accomplish the project? (The Town's share of the project costs is expected to be funded through appropriations of approximately $40,000 in each of fiscal years 2019, 2020 and 2021.)

It's likely the final $10,000 would come from the town's bridge fund.

The other local referendum seeks to codify several of the town's building ordinances.