The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) canceled the condemnation hearing it scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, to secure temporary construction easements with the two outstanding landowners involved in the plans to replace the Kingsbury iron bridge with a pony truss structure.
The hearing was canceled because Vermont Land Trust and Anna Whiteside, a private landowner, agreed to settlement conditions the day before. In Whiteside’s case, VTrans ended up purchasing three acres of land in order to secure her compliance.
The Kingsbury iron bridge replacement project is now “free and clear to move forward,” Warren town administrator Cindi Hartshorn-Jones said, and the town has finalized the construction design and secured the necessary rights of way. The project will go out to bid sometime in September.
Plans call for erecting a temporary bridge to the west of the current bridge and deconstructing and removing the existing 1929 iron bridge. A new pony truss bridge will be built next year, after almost a decade of planning.
The temporary bridge will be constructed about 50 feet to the west of the northern end of the bridge and about 100 feet to the west of the southern end of the bridge.
The current bridge will be removed next spring and will be offered to the public. If no one has a use for it, it will be destroyed after the Agency of Transportation ensures that the bridge is properly photographed and documented for the state historic structures division.
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