Bridge over Connecticut River, section of I-91 to reopen soon

This story by Emma Roth-Wells was first published in the Valley News on Oct. 8

THETFORD — Two long-term infrastructure projects in Orange and Grafton counties are set to wrap up next month, to the relief of area residents and business owners.

After more than 18 months and $9.4 million in construction costs, the bridge over the Connecticut River connecting East Thetford and Lyme on Route 113 is scheduled to fully reopen on Nov. 15, about a month later than originally planned.

North along the river, a six-mile stretch of southbound Interstate 91 between exits 16 and 15 in Fairlee, which has been closed since April of this year, is expected to reopen at the beginning of November. The project has cost approximately $4 million so far.

The hardest part of any project is the detour, Joseph Flynn, secretary of the Vermont Agency of Transportation, or VTrans, said in a phone interview with the Valley News.

“That’s always the challenge, the disruption to travel,” he said.

To cross the Connecticut River, drivers have detoured either about 12 miles North to Bridge Street, the crossing between Orford and Fairlee, or about 18 miles south to the Ledyard Bridge between Norwich and Hanover.

Detouring motorists from the I-91 southbound closure must go through downtown Fairlee on Route 5. The change in traffic flow means delays, longer commutes and a decrease in customers for some local businesses.

Both projects have faced delays.

Construction on I-91 southbound was set to end by mid-to-late August. However, the scope of the project expanded when workers “found several locations that would be expected to fail and could overwhelm the southbound lanes with rock material,” Bruce Martin, a Vermont Agency of Transportation project manager, wrote in a July email to the Valley News.

The Thetford-Lyme bridge was originally supposed to open this month, but last winter the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, or NHDOT, granted the contractor, New England Infrastructure Inc., of Hudson, Mass., a time extension because additional structural steel repairs were uncovered in the cleaning and painting process.

The bridge, built in 1937, had deteriorating steel and concrete, was on New Hampshire’s Red List, a list of bridges that require inspection due to poor condition. Before the bridge closed in April 2023, it had a reduced weight limit of 15 tons.

The bridge is scheduled to completely open Nov. 15 with some construction clean-up wrapping up by Thanksgiving, according to Jennifer Lane, spokesperson for the NHDOT.

As the detours in East Thetford, Lyme and Fairlee are set to end next month, residents reflected on the impact.

“I couldn’t believe one bridge like that would take so many customers away,” said Bonnie Huggett, owner of Huggett’s Mart, a gas station and convenience store along Route 5 in East Thetford. “Closing the bridge was very devastating for small businesses like mine, my sales were hit really hard.”

Huggett, who has owned the store since 1991, said her sales declined over $1 million between April and December of last year.

“These people who decided to close the bridge, I don’t know what their thought process was,” she said. “This on top of the pandemic, which wasn’t too long ago, makes small businesses have a hard time surviving.”

The decision to rehabilitate the bridge instead of demolish it and build a new one came down to a variety of factors including the bridge’s eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, a list by the National Park Service of structures and places worthy of preservation.

Sam Ranger, retail manager of the farmstand at Cedar Circle Farm on Pavillion Road in East Thetford, said although the stand has had a reduction in sales, the workers have done “a good job reaching across the river.”

Cedar Circle Farm, which operates a farmstand, cafe, commercial kitchen and educational center, started a pre-order and delivery service last summer at the Lyme Country Store on Wednesdays and Fridays for its New Hampshire customers. It also began a pop-up farmstand on Wednesdays in the Lyme Country Store parking lot.

Eric Tadlock, executive director of the nonprofit farm, said he is “very thankful” for the partnership with the Lyme Country Store.

Although it did face revenue losses of about 30 percent in 2023 and 20 percent in 2024, the farm’s “feelings of success come from being able to maintain connections with the Lyme community, not finances and figures,” Tadlock said.

Tadlock, who himself lives in Lyme, has canoed across the river a few times to commute to work during the bridge closure, a quicker journey than taking one of the detours, he said.

The businesses on the Lyme side of the river reported not much of a difference in revenue.

“Everybody’s been really good about it,” said Tami Dowd, owner of Dowds’ Country Inn and Event Center. “The locals grumble about having to go through Hanover but that’s about it.”

The construction on the stretch of I-91 began following a rockfall event in February of this year. Primary contractor J.A. McDonald Inc., based in Lyndon, Vt., has worked to stabilize the cliff side by clearing trees, removing existing mesh, hand scaling loose rock material and vegetation along the faces of the ledge, and installing dowels to hold the rocks in place.

A rolling roadblock has been implemented periodically on the Northbound side of I-91 during scaling activities to prevent cars from driving through areas with potential falling rocks.

Theo Damaskos, the manager at Chapman’s General Store in Fairlee located on Route 5, said she’s seen an “uptick in customers who would normally be going down the highway.”

Along with travelers detoured off of I-91 south, the bridge closure is also directing new patrons to the store especially from Hanover, according to Damaskos.

“I’m hoping they will continue to come to us once the bridge reopens,” she said.

Nearby, Janice Neil, owner of the Jan’s Fairlee Diner on Route 5, said “people have stopped in who didn’t know the diner existed or even the town of Fairlee existed.” Neil is not worried about losing business once the interstate reopens but she appreciates the support the diner has gotten.

However, the detour and rolling roadblock still disrupt daily life for many.

Danielle Allen, owner of Root 5 Farm, located on Route 5 in Fairlee, said the construction poses significant logistical challenges and added costs to delivering nearly 400 farm-share boxes each week.

Since Root 5 Farm does not have a storefront, Allen said, the business is “not taking advantage of the increased traffic.”

Samuel Morey Elementary School, situated off Route 5 in Fairlee, has experienced “minor delays” from the rolling roadblocks and increased traffic volume since sometimes staff and families cannot get to school on time, Principal Tom Buzzell said.

The school community is looking forward to the road “being back to normal,” Buzzell said.

He does, however, recognize the importance of the construction.

“It’s tough, dangerous work that’s essential for us to have safe infrastructure,” he said. “I’m happy the crew’s here getting that work done.”

Read the story on VTDigger here: Bridge over Connecticut River, section of I-91 to reopen soon .