Woodstock Early Bird has more details on our report of the imminent dismantling of the Taftsville Covered Bridge. This update comes from WEB Contributor Gareth Henderson:
Most of the Taftsville Covered Bridge is about to be taken apart and preserved for the winter, after it was badly damaged following the Irene floods. The project could start as soon as this week and will be finished by the end of December, according to Town Manager Phil Swanson.
The bridge’s pieces, which include the historic roof, siding and floor of the 1836 structure, will be labeled and safely stored in the Woodstock Town Highway Garage during the winter months. Then next Spring, the “putting-back-together” will be included in the larger Taftsville Bridge reconstruction project that was already slated to start in 2012. It will be about two years before the bridge is usable again.
The Taftsville Bridge became a local touchstone, along with the Quechee Bridge, for the severity of destruction wielded by Tropical Storm Irene last August. The pre-winter dismantling is meant to preserve essential structural pieces that might be lost due to ice or spring break-up flooding.
For the winter months, visitors and locals will only see the bridge’s arches remaining once this imminent “emergency stabilization” project is complete.
Last night the Woodstock Selectboard awarded this work to Wright Construction of Mount Holly, which came in with the low bid of $226,758. (That was one of four bids the town received – with the highest being at $675,000.) FEMA money is expected to cover 75 percent of the project’s cost, with the state kicking in another 15 percent. That leaves the town to pay for 10 percent of the cost. For those concerned, Swanson says Vermont’s Historic Preservation plans to put the bridge back together exactly the way it way.
Also on Tuesday, the Selectboard selected local engineer Mike Willis as the resident engineer for the emergency stabilization project, from a total of three bids. Willis’ bid was for $80 per hour, and he told the town he would not charge for travel time.
(Woodstock Early Bird notes this is a bit of a chuckle since Willis is a Taftsville resident living near the bridge.)
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 