Project Location: Town of Rockingham in Windham County on US Route 5 (Missing Link Road) over The Green Mountain Railroad. The bridge is located approximately 0.3 miles north of the junction with VT Route 103.

The Rockingham Bridge 38 project includes the replacement of the existing single span riveted 2-girder bridge. The existing structure has a span of 57-feet and a width of 23.7-feet. The structure currently has a deck rating of 5 (fair), a superstructure rating of 4 (poor), and a substructure rating of 6 (satisfactory). This bridge was constructed in 1929 and is 59-feet in length. Many of the floor beam ends have varying sized holes in the webs with section loss in the bottom flanges. The floor beams over the abutments have long slotted holes in the webs, varying between 2' to 5' in length.

VTrans evaluated alternatives for rehabilitation or replacement of the bridge in an engineering study completed in February 2020. This study assessed the proposed design criteria for the structure, right-of-way, rare/threatened/endangered species impacts, vertical clearance, and resource impacts. Several alternatives were considered, including: no action, deck replacement (including floorbeam replacement), superstructure replacement, and full bridge replacement with a bridge or a buried structure. Maintenance of traffic options considered included an offsite detour or a temporary bridge.

Given the age of the structure, site constraints and current conditions, the engineering study recommended a full bridge replacement with traffic maintained on an offsite detour. The proposed typical section will include two 10-foot travel lanes with 4-foot shoulders, for a total width of 28-feet.  

It is anticipated that the bridge will be constructed during the summer of 2025.