Charlemont Embracing its Covered Bridge

 

Charlemont, Ma., February 27, 2005 - Writes Trudy Tynan, Associated Press: "Folks here hold an abiding fondness for the old interlocked timbers -- so much so that for the second time in a century, they banded together to beat back attempts to replace it with steel and concrete.

"Only a handful of covered bridges remain in Massachusetts. But after generations of trying to replace them, state engineers are now pondering ways to save the most threatened of the state's historic structures.

"The standoff in Charlemont -- the state owns the bridge, but the town controls the river crossing -- lasted for 14 years before state engineers agreed this winter that it could be repaired using wood and a few steel strengthening bars.

"Although it is one of the state's newest -- built in 1950 after a brisk round of skirmishing between earlier residents and state engineers to replace an 1880 homemade covered bridge -- the unique design of the Bissell Bridge's truss work has earned it a place on the National Register of Historic Places."

The 92-foot Bissell Bridge [WGN 21-06-04#2] crosses Mill Brook using a Long Truss variation. The bridge is found on Rte. MA8A north of the junction with Rte. MA2

For the complete article, go to www.milforddailynews.com