Project Location: Town of Waterbury in Washington County on Stowe Street (Town Highway 2) over Thatcher Brook.  Bridge 36 is a town-owned bridge located on Stowe Street approximately 110 feet south of the junction with Vermont Route 100.

The Waterbury Bridge 36 project includes the replacement of the existing single span concrete T-beam bridge. The existing structure has a length of 42-feet and a width of 27-feet. The structure currently has a deck rating of 5 (fair), a superstructure rating of 5 (fair), and a substructure rating of 5 (fair). This bridge was constructed in 1928.

• The existing concrete beams and deck are in fair to poor condition, with holes and heavy wheel rutting in the pavement.
• The concrete sidewalk is spalling, particularly in interface with roadway.
• The concrete sidewalk is not ADA compliant.
• The beams are cracked and spalled where previous repairs have failed to bond. There are large delaminated areas throughout the deck and beams, and large spalled areas with exposed rebar.
• The T-beams continue to deteriorate, spall, and crack due to corrosion of the reinforcement.
• The approach railing and bridge rail do not meet the current standard.
• The existing bridge width is inadequate to accommodate turning movements of the commuter bus that regularly uses the bridge to access the Park and Ride on Lincoln Street.
• The bridge is not wide enough to accommodate cyclists on the roadway shoulder.
• The adjacent intersection with Lincoln street has inadequate sight distance to the north.

VTrans evaluated alternatives for rehabilitation or replacement of the bridge in an engineering study completed in June, 2021. This study assessed the proposed design criteria for the structure, bridge width, turning movements, right-of-way, hydraulics, and resource impacts. Several alternatives were considered, including: no action, superstructure replacement with and without widening, and full bridge replacement with a buried structure or conventianal bridge. 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 a buried structure and traffic maintained on an offsite detour. The proposed typical section would include 3 lanes on the bridge for a 12’/3’ (or 11’/4’) typical with a 5-foot wide sidewalk on the upstream fascia.