Today we continued to work on abutment 2 cofferdam, and now that the seven day cure is up on the pier, much of the pier has been stripped.

Abutment 2 will be doweled on ledge. Ledge is exposed on the left side of this photo

The concrete from the 1925 bridge was not very strong. This part of the bridge came apart more easily than the 1928 portions.

In the left side of the photo note a temporary work bridge installed to access the abutment 2 work area.

River diversion in place, demolition of the last span of the 1928 bridge begins.

Finishing the bridge seats on the top of the pier

Froming the top half of the pier stem
First half of the Pier stem done. In this photo, Winterset is working on building a river diversion for demolition of the remainder of the old 1928 bridge. We had to get an ammended Army Corps permit to do this work.

Forming the Pier Footing on top of the subfooting.

Forming above the bridge seats

Backfilling abutment 1

Abutment 1 and wingwall 2 walls

Abutment one footing

Piles being driven in the footprint of abutment 1

The retaining wall on the southern approach needed to be moved farther from the edge of the road. It was still aligned to the roadway from the 1925 bridge.

Demolition of the old bridge begins minutes later.

In May the detour is completed and traffic switched to the Mabey bridge.

Debris from the remenents of the 1925 bridge make installing the cofferdam sheets a slow process.

Through a change in design, they change from drilled shaft to spread footing for the pier.

But they continue to work on the project anyway. They build the timber retaining wall

Winterset is unsucessfull in their attempt to open the detour before the paving plants shut down for the winter.

Contractor spends the fall building the temporary detour.

Winterset is the low bidder. Clearing begins

Contract letting date set for new main street bridge 09/29/06

1928 Bridge

The new bridge is open to traffic less than one year.

The bridge that replaces the washed out structure is much longer, spanning the entire washed out southern approach. Prince Street curves of the upstream side swinging down and under the new bridge. Abutment one and the approach to the 1925 bridge was retained.

1925 Bridge

The northern abutment and part of the approach does survive.
Water and debris could not fit through the narrow channel under the bridge, so it washes out a large part of the southern approach.
The great flood of November 3-5, 1927 wipes out many bridges in Vermont including the new bridge. The river changes is course from over near Randolph Avenue to a straight shot downstream.

1925 the covered bridge is replaced with a steel plate girder beam bridge with a concrete deck.

Covered Bridge

A dam just upstream of the bridge powered the gristmill.

In the early 1920's automobile traffic doomed the covered bridge. Note that a sidewalk was added to the downstream side of the structure. A blacksmith shop is on the left and a gristmill is on the right.

Prior to 1924 a Covered bridge was at this site. Notice that the span is about 60'. The southern abutment is built out into the flood plain. Prince Street exits on the downstream side.