It’s been a long time coming but a brand-new Clothespin Bridge — named after a mill, not a laundry accessory — will be open soon.
“This has been planned probably since 2015 or so. It was on the state’s red list for a long time,” said Town Administrator Dana Hadley. The work started earlier this year and will be done by the end of November, “maybe sooner.”
Clothespin Bridge carries a two-lane road on a steel span over the Blackwater River. The 70-foot bridge was built in 1939, and since then, time has taken its toll. The deck was rated in “critical” condition by the state as of last year.
The bridge is one of more than 320 — two-thirds owned by municipalities and the rest by the state — that are “red-listed,” meaning they have one or more major structural elements with a poor rating on the National Bridge Inspection Standards scale. They are considered safe to use, although some have weight limits imposed, but occasionally one is judged too damaged to be usable and gets closed until money can be found to repair it.
The total cost of the Clothespin Bridge work was about $3.7 million. Construction was covered by a Biden-era grant from the 2021 Infrastructure and Jobs Bill, and the state bridge program paid for 80% of the engineering costs. The remainder of engineering costs, about $75,000, was paid out of Webster’s capital reserve, Hadley said.
When the bridge finally opens, it will be posted on the town website and announced by the Select Board.
Hadley said he was sure the homes on Clothespin Bridge Road would quickly learn the news. “Word does travel fast here in Webster,” he said.
As for that name, it apparently comes from a nearby 19th-century mill that made clothespins as well as roofing shingles.
The term “clothespin bridge” is occasionally used for bridges with small arches over streams that, when reflected in still water, look something like a clothespin from the side. That description does not apply to the Webster bridge, however.