Bissell Covered Bridge Reopens

WGN 21-06-04#2

 

Charlemont, MA, May 22, 2009 - After a $3 million, two year renovation, the Bissell Covered Bridge was reopened to motor vehicle traffic this week. The bridge serves Route 8A over Mill Brook.

The Bissell had been supporting only foot traffic since it was bypassed in 1995 by a temporary structure. The 92-foot, two-lane bridge was built in 1951 using a variation of the Long truss to replace an earlier span built in 1840.

The contractor, Palmer-based Northern Construction, dismantled and inspected structural timbers, constructed new abutments; replaced floor beams, deck surface and railings, and installed steel reinforcement rods and a dry sprinkler fire protection system. Built of Douglas fir, 80 to 90 percent of the original "fabric" was retained.

The Bissell, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is one of five surviving covered bridges in Franklin County listed by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges publication, The World Guide to Covered Bridges. Two of them, the Burkeville and Smith bridges, were recently restored.

For the story, go to: http://www.recorder.com/story.cfm?id_no=6162478.