For $1, you could buy a historic New Hampshire bridge
Aug. 21—If you could write a personal ad for the historic Smith's Crossing Bridge, it might go something like this:
"Tall, dark, handsome, 90-year-old with sturdy build seeks partner to retire with. Loves nature. Adept at connecting people. Hobbies include railroad yesteryear. Willing to travel outside New Hampton."
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation hopes someone will find spans like the Smith's Crossing Bridge attractive enough to make a long-term commitment. For $1 — plus the cost of relocation — a cool, old bridge could be yours.
The wooden bridge is one of five offered for sale through a program run by the state to relocate and preserve history while reusing retired structures.
"The bridge was built in 1934 by the Boston & Maine Railroad. The bridge is significant both for its relation to the historic railroad corridor and its construction methods," said Richard Arcand, spokesman for the NHDOT. "It is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places."
So far, the state has received one proposal for the Smith's Crossing Bridge, and officials hope to announce the winning bid in mid- to late October, Arcand said.
The bridge needs repairs that could cost upward of $300,000 to preserve and make it functional, he said. The estimated cost to disassemble and move the bridge is $50,000.
The NHDOT recently created a dedicated webpage to promote efforts to preserve retired bridges with historical significance. Bridges for sale are listed at dot.nh.gov/historic-bridge-dispositions-bridges-sale.
Arcand said only three or four have been sold through the program so far, with the "most notable" being the Prowse Bridge on Interstate 93 in Londonderry, which was bought by the city of Keene.
Built in 1962, the 216-foot Robert J. Prowse Memorial Bridge was removed in 2014 during the widening of I-93. The bridge was the first continuously welded, steel rigid-frame overpass built in the U.S.
Keene, which bought the bridge in 2021, plans to reconstruct it over Route 101 as part of its Transportation Heritage Trail, which connects to the 42-mile Cheshire Rail Trail in southwestern New Hampshire.
Keene Public Works Director Donald Lussier said the city has targeted 2028 for reconstruction in cooperation with the NHDOT's project for that section of Route 101. For now, pieces of the bridge live in the I-93 median but are in fine condition, he said.
The cost of rebuilding the Prowse bridge is estimated to be $2 million, about half the budget for the city's $4 million plan to finish a quarter-mile section of the trail and reconstruct a stone-arch bridge and a historic Bailey bridge — a prefabricated truss bridge developed by British military during World War II.
Lussier said cities and towns can work with local nonprofits to hold fundraisers such as road races and can apply for grants. But it's a lot of money.
"Keene has invested pretty heavily in the rail trail," he said. "It's something we're really proud of."
As for other communities or groups interested in buying a bridge, Arcand said proposals are judged on four criteria: quality and feasibility, overall project plan and cost, how the bridge will be preserved and reused, and compliance with federal standards for rehabilitating historic structures.
The NHDOT is now accepting proposals for the Warner River Bridge in Warner. Bids must be submitted by Sept. 9.
Three other bridges — the Main Street Bridge in Pelham and Andover's Northern Rail Trail Bridge and Sucker Brook Bridge — will be open for proposals soon.
