A covered bridge could again span the Mad River at Meadow Road if Waitsfield officials can line up engineering help, federal timber funding and local support for what they describe as a signature gateway project.
At a June 22 meeting, the Waitsfield Select Board heard that the town has released a request for proposals (RFP) for engineering work on the Meadow Road Bridge and has begun circulating it widely. The RFP has been sent through the Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission, directly to multiple engineering firms, posted on the Vermont League of Cities and Towns website, listed on the town website and noticed in The Valley Reporter.
At the same time, town staff are preparing a letter of interest to the Northern Border Regional Commission’s Timber for Transit program, known as T4T, which supports timber-based transportation projects. The goal is to help finance a new covered bridge at the Meadow Road crossing, restoring a structure that once stood in that location.
“In terms of the NBRC Timber for Transit, Charlie Goodman was the most excited of anyone,” the town administrator York Haverkamp, said, noting the late road commissioner’s enthusiasm for bringing back a covered span at Meadow Road.
SUBMIT LETTER
The administrator told the board he has had “pretty good conversations” with Timber for Transit program manager and state transportation partners. While those officials were initially skeptical — in part because Waitsfield recently secured a $1 million NBRC grant for wastewater upgrades — they were more receptive after hearing how the bridge project could differ and what benefits it might deliver.
“Their tune did change,” he said, adding that they encouraged the town to submit a letter of interest outlining costs and benefits. That letter is nearly complete, but staff are still working to firm up preliminary cost estimates.
For Waitsfield, a second NBRC award would be “remarkable,” board member Fred Messer said, and could help elevate the bridge from routine infrastructure to a regional landmark. Messer said seeing a covered bridge at Meadow Road had once felt “totally impossible.”
LOCAL MATCH
“Can you imagine Route 100, looking over there and seeing that covered bridge?” Messer said.
Board member Larissa Ursprung said that the concept is also being discussed with the Mad River Valley Rural Resource Commission, which serves as the region’s Certified Local Government under the National Park Service’s historic preservation program. While CLG grants are modest and tend to focus on research and planning, they have occasionally supported “brick and mortar” work, and could help with local match if the covered bridge moves forward.
Board members said they expect both excitement and skepticism in the community, given the likely price tag and the fact that the project is more than a standard bridge replacement.
“I think there's going to be a lot of buy-in needed,” Haverkamp noted, predicting that local support will be critical to pairing federal and state dollars with town commitments.
BRIDGE DECK
The town plans to continue advancing engineering procurement and the Timber for Transit application in parallel. A more detailed public conversation, including firm cost figures and design options, is expected once responses to the Meadow Road Bridge RFP are in and the NBRC funding prospects are clearer.
While that work progresses, the town is also working on getting the existing bridge deck repair from damage during flooding in 2023. During that flooding event, Route 100 and 100B were both closed due to Dowsville Brook damaging a bridge on each road, which routed all traffic over the bridge.
To support the funding application, DuBois & King has submitted a proposal to prepare a conceptual opinion of construction cost for a new bridge deck meeting current codes and standards. The scope is limited to the deck only; other bridge rehabilitation elements are not included. The fee is not to exceed $6,000.
