| Bridge Name: | Cheshire Bridge |
| Carries: | 2 lanes of roadway trains (until 1984) |
| Crosses: | Connecticut River |
| Design: | three-span Pennsylvania truss |
| Length: | 489feet |
| Builder: | McClintic-Marshall Co. |
| Complete: | 1806, 1906, 1930 |
| Cost: | US$225,000 (US$ with inflation) |
| Open: | 1930 |
| Toll: | none since 2001 |
| Coordinates: | 43.2605°N -72.4273°W |
The Cheshire Bridge spans the Connecticut River between Charlestown, New Hampshire, and Springfield, Vermont.[1] [2]
The first bridge at this location was completed in 1806 by the Cheshire Bridge Co.[3] and was described as a Town lattice covered toll bridge, a wooden covered bridge. In 1897 the bridge was purchased by the Springfield Electric Railway.
In 1906 the old bridge was replaced by the Iron Bridge Co., at a cost of US$65,000 (US$ with inflation).[4] It was a three-span steel Pratt truss bridge, which had a 600feet span and a 20feet-wide roadway. Vehicles ran both ways, and also freight and passenger cars. In 1930 the bridge was replaced by the McClintic-Marshall Co. of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at a cost of US$225,000 (US$ with inflation).[5] It is a three-span Pennsylvania truss that is 489feet feet long.
The bridge was purchased by the state of New Hampshire in 1992. Tolls were collected until 2001.[6]