Project Location: Village of Bellows Falls in Windham County on Depot Street (Town Highway 448) over the Power Dam Canal.  The bridge is located at the intersection of Depot Street and Canal Street (Town Highway 450).

South of the Depot Street Bridge, Canal Street is a one-way road with traffic flowing north. Bridge 53 is one of two bridges that access the island. Bridge 52 on Bridge Street is the only other access to the island and is considered structurally deficient. There is a bus/train station located on the island. Additionally, the island is zoned for high density Commercial Industrial development, and truck traffic volumes are expected to increase in the future. The Bellows Falls Waypoint Welcome Center is also located on the island, and both the welcome center and train/bus station are expected to generate a high level of pedestrian traffic.

The Bellows Falls Bridge 53 project includes the replacement of the existing reinforced concrete arch.  The existing structure has a span of 96-feet and a width of 32-feet. The structure currently has a culvert rating of 4 (poor). This bridge was constructed in 1909.  The existing concrete arch has a significant amount of spalling concrete and exposed rebar.  There is deep spalling with exposed reinforcing and heavy section loss along the water line at the arch foundation, and the extent of this deterioration is unknown as the base of the arch is submerged below the canal water line.  

VTrans evaluated alternatives for rehabilitation or replacement of the bridge in an engineering study completed in 2018. This study assessed the proposed design criteria for the structure, right-of-way, utility impacts and historic impacts. Several alternatives were considered, including: no action, disinvestment, arch rehabilitation, replacement of the historic arch, or a new bridge off-alignment at a new location or at the Bridge Street location.

The Town and Village voted to replace the structure with an off-alignment vehicular bridge improving commercial access to the island. In addition to the off-alignment vehicular bridge there will be a pedestrian bridge constructed adjacent to the existing bridge which will also be used to carry municipal utilities such as sewer and water.