LYNDON, Vt. (WCAX) – Lyndon is known as Vermont’s covered bridge capital, but one bridge, in particular, continues to create frustration for the town and cost it money– the Millers Run Bridge.
“We used to just call it the white bridge in Lyndon Center. Mike Grant, I think, has a camera up on the bank. He just watches people, records people smashing into the bridge. One after the other after the other,” said Thomas Greenwood, who was born and raised in Lyndon.
Greenwood says the Millers Run Bridge has always been a historic part of town. But over the years, box trucks have continued to damage the bridge, creating a heavy burden for local officials.
He says everybody needs to put their heads together to find a solution.
“They have talked about it here. The price of steel has gone up. They’re going to do it later, they are going to look into it sometime. Then it’s too expensive or they can’t find a contractor that would do it. You just can’t continue to watch them smash into it,” Greenwood said.
A year ago, the town planned to put two steel bars at each end of the bridge to deter box trucks from taking the route. Town Administrator Justin Smith says that the plan has slowed down because of the expense of the project and because the contractors who they thought could do the job declined because of the embankment underneath.
Smith says on average, the bridge gets hit at least five times a year. The last time was two weeks ago.
Officials have put a wooden bar in as a temporary deterrent.
“It is more or less until we get to fixing the facades on both ends, just a header so that you can see there is a height limit. We decided to throw some reflective tape onto that two-by-four. Hopefully, it just becomes more visible that way,” Smith said.
There have been talks of moving the bridge over altogether and building a new bridge. But not everyone likes the idea.
“I think it is unfortunate. Maybe they broaden the search or see if there are any repairs or fortifying that can be done to the foundation,” said Cheryl McMahon of Kirby.
For the time being, local officials are going to try to put up a sign that says your GPS is wrong, but they will continue to look for alternative solutions.
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