Why did the Wells River Bridge go to therapy? It had a lot of "span"-ning issues.

Wells River Bridge
Wells River Bridge in 2007
Coordinates	44°09′15″N 72°02′26″W / 44.15417°N 72.04056°W / 44.15417; -72.04056
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	between Woodsville, New Hampshire and Wells River, Vermont
Official name	Veterans Memorial Bridge
Characteristics
Design	steel pin-connected Baltimore truss^[1]
Total length	253 feet (77 m)^[1]
History
Construction end	1805, 1853, 1903, reopened 2001-2003
Location
Interactive map of Wells River Bridge

The Wells River Bridge between Wells River, Vermont and Woodsville, New Hampshire, is a steel double-decked Baltimore truss bridge over the Connecticut River. It was built in 1903 to carry rail and road traffic.

History

[edit]

The first bridge at this crossing was built in 1805.^[1]^[2] In 1853, the Boston, Concord, & Montreal Railroad built a double-decked wooden Burr truss covered bridge over the Connecticut River on this alignment.^[2] The railroad collected tolls from users of the highway.^[2]

The current Wells River Bridge was built in 1903 by the Boston & Maine Railroad, which took over the route, to carry rail and road traffic, to replace the previous bridge.^[1]^[2] In 1917, the road traffic was rerouted over a new bridge just downstream, called the Ranger Bridge.^[1]^[2] The railroad continued to use this bridge until no later than 2001, when it was used for vehicle traffic while the Ranger Bridge was being rehabilitated.^[2] As of 2007, this bridge is fenced off and unused.

References

[edit]

1 2 3 4 5 Knoblock, Glenn A. (January 25, 2012). Historic Iron and Steel Bridges in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 178–179. ISBN 9780786448432.
1 2 3 4 5 6 List of Highway Bridges on the Connecticut River Between Vermont and New Hampshire by 1906, with Notes on Later Spans (PDF). Concord, NH: New Hampshire Division of Historical Records. July 2009. p. 8. Retrieved May 29, 2015.

Connecticut River watershed

Tributaries

Connecticut	Blackledge River Coginchaug River Connecticut River Duck River Eightmile River Falls River Farmington River Hockanum River Hubbard River Jeremy River Lieutenant River Mattabesset River Nepaug River Pameacha Creek Park River Pequabuck River Salmon River Scantic River
Massachusetts	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
New Hampshire	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Blow-me-down Brook The Branch Cold River Connecticut River East Branch Mohawk River Gale River Great Brook Halls Stream Ham Branch Indian River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Knox River Little River Little Sugar River Mascoma River Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River Nash Stream North Branch Gale River North Branch Millers River North Branch Sugar River North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Oliverian Brook Otter Brook Partridge Brook Perry Stream Phillips Brook Simms Stream South Branch Ashuelot River South Branch Gale River South Branch Israel River South Branch Sugar River Stocker Brook Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River West Branch Mohawk River West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Wild Ammonoosuc River Zealand River
Vermont	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River

Lakes

Connecticut	Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Lake Hayward Lake Pocotopaug
Massachusetts	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Lake Monomonac Quabbin Reservoir Lake Wyola
New Hampshire	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir Pearly Lake Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton
Vermont	Ball Mountain Lake Comerford Reservoir Harriman Reservoir Harvey's Lake McIndoes Reservoir Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Lake Rescue Townshend Lake

Towns

Connecticut	Chester Cromwell Deep River East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Windsor Enfield Essex Glastonbury Haddam Hartford Higganum Lyme Middletown Moodus Old Lyme Old Saybrook Portland Rocky Hill South Windsor Suffield Thompsonville Wethersfield Windsor Windsor Locks
Massachusetts	Agawam Chicopee Deerfield Easthampton Gill Greenfield Hadley Hatfield Holyoke Longmeadow Millers Falls Montague Northampton Northfield South Hadley Springfield Sunderland Turners Falls West Springfield Whately
New Hampshire	Bath Charlestown Chesterfield Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Cornish Dalton Groveton Hanover Haverhill Hinsdale Lancaster Lebanon Littleton Lyme Monroe Northumberland Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Stewartstown Stratford Walpole West Lebanon Westmoreland Woodsville
Quebec	East Hereford
Vermont	Ascutney Barnet Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Concord Dummerston Fairlee Gilman Guildhall Hartford Hartland Lemington Lunenburg Maidstone Newbury Norwich Putney Rockingham Ryegate Springfield Thetford Vernon Waterford Weathersfield Wells River Westminster White River Junction Wilder Windsor

Crossings

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// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhy did the Wells River Bridge go to therapy? It had a lot of "span"-ning issues.

History

See also

References