Milton portion of bridge replacement $ will go to vote

Questions and comments, fingerpointing and accusations were all part of Thursday's meeting, but in the end, consensus seemed to be winning the day. (Harrison Thorp photo)

MILTON - Milton’s $140,000 estimated share for a new two-lane concrete bridge connecting Townhouse Road in Milton and New Bridge Road in Lebanon will go before Milton voters next year.

Milton Selectmen Chairman Tom Gray made the announcement on Thursday during a meeting on the New Bridge Road bridge moments after saying he would take the blame for the town’s inertia on the project in recent years.

The mea culpa from Gray may have been unnecessary as many other parties share the blame, one meeting-goer cried out, but it seemed to stop the finger-pointing and began some consensus building about how next to proceed, consensus building that seemed to be lacking in earlier meetings.

More than 50 deeply concerned residents, many from the areas of Lebanon and Milton most affected by the bridge’s closure, packed the Emma Ramsey Center to vent deep frustrations over safety concerns, economic concerns and inconvenience they live with daily because there is no bridge.

Milton’s portion of a $1.4 million two-lane concrete bridge will be $140,000. That’s because Milton owns half of the bridge, while Maine owns the half in Lebanon.

New Hampshire will pay 80 percent of the $700,000 left after the other half is paid by Maine, DOT officials from both states explained.

The funding formula, itself, irked many Milton residents, who asked why New Hampshire shouldn’t be more supportive of communities that have ownership in interstate bridges.

“Other people other than Milton residents use that bridge, why should we have to pay for it ourselves,” reasoned one resident.

Nancy Mayville of the New Hampshire DOT said that there were hundreds of other bridges in the state owned the same way and that’s just the way it is.

Chip Getchell of the Maine DOT said years ago his state took over responsibility of interstate bridges that had been owned by municipalities. But he reminded Lebanon residents as he did last year at a September meeting on the bridge that Lebanon’s contribution to the cause might speed up Maine’s putting a bridge replacement on the fast track should Milton voters ante up their portion next March.

Emotions ran high as some Milton residents took offense at Lebanon residents’ clamoring over Milton’s inertia.

“It’s easy for Lebanon to call for a new bridge, they don’t have to pay for it,” one said.

Another resident called it a pissing match between the two states and the two towns.

“We need to bring closure,” she said. “It’s nasty.”

Others complained about the obvious safety issues. One man who lived in Lebanon near the bridge said during a storm a tree fell on some power lines and he had no way to get out, because the New Bridge Road bridge is gone. He said he drove his car under the partially fallen tree because he had to leave, but said he could have been electrocuted.

“Does someone have to die before you do something,” another resident said.

Many Milton residents who live on or just off of Townhouse Road on the Milton side said  they could be cut off in the event of a major flood like the Mother’s Day floods of several years ago.

“If you have an apartment building, you have to have two ways out,” one said. “We only have one way out.”

Even if Milton does come up with its $140,000, Getchell said prioritizing the bridge’s replacement could be a hard sell with his commissioner who would have final say on giving the go-ahead.

“With only 700 cars a day and four-mile detour, this bridge will not fare well in a prioritization process,” he said, adding if Lebanon made a contribution it would likely speed the timetable.

Other bridge options were discussed including renting a temporary bridge and a bailey bridge.

A temporary bridge would cost about $180,000, and then include a rental fee of about $8,800 per year. Mayville said renting a bridge is expected to be a temporary thing, with a permanent structure built after five years or so. She said the state had a dim view of this being a workable solution, however.

Mayville also suggested the state of New Hampshire could sell Bailey bridge parts to Milton.

Milton and Maine would then put together the bridge, which Getchell said is a very time intensive and cumbersome project.

A bailey bridge would be a one-lane bridge with a stop sign on one side and a yield sign on the other. It would be 14 1/2 feet wide and would cost about $400-$500 thousand dollars.

Mayville said a bailey bridge could last about 10 years.

She said with a lesser bridge with lesser costs to the state, New Hampshire could move up the timetable, which is now 2023 at the earliest.

Both she and Getchell agreed a bailey bridge would put enormous burden on the towns to keep it safe.

“There are lots of clips and bolts (on these bridges), our crews go out once a month with these bridges to make sure they’re safe,” Getchell said.

A final alternative was to have a one-lane concrete bridge instead of a two lane, which might bring the cost down from $1.4 million to near $1 million.

The meeting ended with a decision to remeet in a workshop-type setting in August to firm up options, costs and commitment timetables if any of the replacement plans were to move forward.