You Want to Get Where?

You know that saying, that is supposed to be funny, that goes, “You can’t get there from here”? well, it’s a reality in Deering.

And just in case the link dies (it always does after a couple of days), here is the full content of the article out of the February 17 edition of the Union Leader:

State transportation officials ordered a well traveled bridge closed and barricaded yesterday after an inspection deemed it unsafe.

Repairs for the 101-year-old span aren’t scheduled until July 2008. Town officials spent yesterday fielding calls from angry residents who use the one-lane West Deering Bridge primarily for quick access to Routes 202/9. It’s also the only connecting bridge from West Deering to Antrim.

Without it, folks will have to use Long Woods Road, a long, muddy dirt road in a low-lying area that is difficult to travel in good weather.

"It’s a terrible road, legendary in our area," said Jerry Donovan, owner of Robin Hill Farm, a brain injury rehabilitation facility about two miles from the bridge. "I was just driving that road and I passed someone with bales of shavings. He had lost his load."

On Wednesday night town officials received a fax from the state, saying the inspection found a critical deficiency in the bridge and that it should be shut down and barricaded immediately. The painted steel structure was built in 1905, according to the state inspection report, and connects Antrim and Deering, over the Contoocook River.

Bill Boynton, spokesman for the transportation department, said the bridge has severe rusting, and the trusses — "the historic portion of the bridge" — are at issue.

The state’s 10-year transportation plan has the bridge scheduled for repairs in July 2008. On Tuesday, bridge maintenance officials are expected to examine the bridge again, in hopes they can find a way to temporarily repair it, Boynton said.

The town says because the bridge is deemed historical, it cannot be torn down. Options are to wait for the repairs or build a new one.

Besides adding a hassle to the morning commute, the closure means traffic from Antrim to the Deering airport will have to go through Francestown. And Deering residents no longer have an easy way to get to Antrim.

Donovan said he spent yesterday morning handing out pamphlets about the closure to commuters. Most were angry. One woman said her brother was getting married Saturday. The directions to the reception included going over the bridge.

We don't often use the bridge, but we do use it for a shortcut when going to the vets', Antrim or Bennington. The real losers are people that live near the airport as they will either have to go to Bennington or come back east several miles to get to Bridge Sreet in Hillsboro, then go several miles west get to 202 then go a couple of miles south before they are where they would normally come out from the bridge.

Ayup, you can't get there from here!