The old iron bridge linking Amesville and Falls Village was closed suddenly this afternoon by state officials. Click here or on the graphic at left to read the news story I just posted on our website.
The feeling in the newsroom was that this story was too important and timely to leave until our next print edition comes out June 19.
Of course, if this is a route you generally use to get to downtown Falls Village, you’ll have to find an alternate. Dugway Road to 112 to Rt 7 looks like your best bet.
9 responses so far ↓
1 Judy Jacobs // Jun 13, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Knew something was up with that joint on the Amesville side heaved up. Sure hope it won’t be closed long. With the price of gas, no one wants to drive further than they have to. And I hope it won’t still be closed when they close the Rt 7 bridge!
2 Peter Halle // Jun 13, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Thanks for the quick reporting, Terry. fyi, the signs and cones have been moved to the side and people are still crossing the bridge.
3 Marshall Miles // Jun 14, 2008 at 5:16 am
Terry:
We had the Selectmans Meeting on from Salisbury, I think it was last month or the month before, and they talked about the bridge, and that it was safe, and had time before they had to fix it.
I will tell you that I took a ride over and went over the bridge the next day…and was amazed at the entrance from the Salisbury side, it was like it was lifted right out of its footings. I have not used the bridge since then, and I am not surprised that it was closed..it appeared to me to be a horrible accident waiting to happen.
I am going thru the archives of my show, to see if I can come up with the clip of me talking about my concerns on the bridge .
4 Geoff Brown // Jun 14, 2008 at 8:07 am
This is a little bit OT, but does anyone know whether this bridge is on the site of the historic “Burrall’s Bridge”?
5 Peter Halle // Jun 14, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Yes, Geoff. If you are interested in the history of Burrall’s Bridge and Amesville, “Connecticut’s Ames Iron Works” and Ed Fales’s marvelous “Iron Country” are good reading. Happy to lend you my copies; probably Scoville or DM Hunt have them.
6 Terrence McCarthy // Jun 14, 2008 at 3:39 pm
You might have found a whole new blog niche, Terry Uno. Lots of bloggers tell us, in a sense, where we can go. This might just be the start of something more useful.
7 Terry // Jun 15, 2008 at 11:36 am
Peter,
That’s troubling to hear that people have moved the signs and are traveling over the bridge as usual. I wonder if that’s a criminal violation.
8 Peter Halle // Jun 26, 2008 at 6:32 am
Terry, good editorial on the bridge today. Do you have an informed view on how long it will take to reopen the bridge? We’ve heard from one month total up to six months. Thanks.
9 Terry // Jun 26, 2008 at 8:55 am
Peter,
Salisbury First Selectman Curtis Rand told me a minimum of a month, which could mean just about any length of time. Unfortunately, the DOT has not returned our calls.
The high end of the range you just cited strikes me as about right, unless they are able to open it to light traffic only in the next few weeks. But heavy vehicles will be barred for a while, I think.
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