Brookfield discusses $500,000 Moose Mountain Bridge repairs, funding options and traffic impacts

The selectboard and members of the public discussed plans for repairing the Moose Mountain Bridge, with town officials reporting an engineering contract product priced at about $197,000 and a total project estimate in the neighborhood of $500,000.

"We met with the engineering firm, Data Engineering, and they have given us a quote...the contract engineering product would be approximately 197,000," the meeting chair said when introducing the project. The chair said the engineering price would include permitting and a bid package; the full construction and related costs were discussed as separate follow-on expenses.

Town staff and residents outlined a proposed schedule to produce a preliminary design package by January so a warrant article could be readied for the March town meeting. Officials discussed splitting construction into phases so the town would not have to bond the full amount at once: underwriting part of the work across one or more warrant articles in successive years, using a town trust fund, or taking a short-term bank note to cover a projected shortfall.

Residents pressed for clarity on timing and cost. One resident, Mr. Coleman, argued that deferring work risks higher costs from inflation and urged the town to consider bonding or taking a bank note now. "I would rather you bond or note it," he said. Town staff noted trade-offs: bonds lock in funds but have additional legal steps and cannot be paid off early, while a prepayable bank note can be paid sooner but typically carries a higher interest rate.

Engineering staff described the physical problem: wing walls adjacent to the bridge have eroded and foundation cavitation is occurring due to eddy currents in high water, which requires wall replacement to stabilize the structure. The preferred engineering approach presented was to install angled wing walls upstream and downstream to funnel flow and relieve the eddy rather than a full bridge replacement; that approach would reduce invasiveness but still likely require extended single-lane traffic control and cooperation from abutters for staging equipment.

Traffic counts were cited to explain impact: "Liz Powell Road is the heaviest travel road in the town, has about 500 cars a day," an official said, while nearby roads carry fewer vehicles. The town also discussed whether grant-funded construction would force the town to build to outside specifications, which previous analyses showed could raise the cost above the town’s $500,000 estimate.

Next steps identified in the meeting included: confirming whether the 2026 warrant can be written to prepay or reserve funds for 2027 (staff said they will check with the DRA), preparing a design package and permitting scope with the selected engineer, and deciding whether to present warrant article(s) or pursue bonding or a bank note. The chair said sworn-in agricultural commission members will be handled separately and adjourned the meeting.

The meeting did not record a final funding vote or a formal contract award; officials said they would return to the March town meeting with more precise numbers and DRA guidance on warrant wording.