Project Location: Town of Braintree in Orange County on VT Route 12 over Ayers Brook. The bridge is located approximately 5.0 miles north of the junction with VT Route 12A North.

The Braintree Bridge 47 project includes a superstructure replacement of the existing T-Beam portion of the bridge. The existing structure is a 33-foot long concrete T-Beam Bridge and Multi-Plate Arch constructed in 1928 and reconstructed in 1969. The structure currently has a deck rating of 4 (poor), a superstructure rating of 6 (satisfactory), and a substructure rating of 6 (satisfactory).

VTrans evaluated alternatives for rehabilitation or replacement of the bridge in an engineering study completed in April, 2019. This study assessed the proposed design criteria for the structure, right-of-way, historic and archaeological impacts, and hydraulics. Several alternatives were considered, including: no action, partial superstructure replacement, and full bridge replacement. The scoping report evaluated an offsite detour, phased constructuin, or a temporary bridge for maintenance of traffic.

Given the age of the structure, site constraints and current conditions, the engineering study recommended a partial superstructure replacement with traffic maintained on an offsite detour. The concrete footing for the Multi-Plate Arch should be extended up along the face of the metal arch to above the ordinary highway water mark to extend the life of the existing structure.