The state of New Hampshire recently opened a new $62 million bridge between Brattleboro and the town of Hinsdale, on the New Hampshire side.
The two communities agreed to keep the old bridges open for biking and pedestrians. But when unhoused people in Brattleboro began setting up camp on the island in between them, Hinsdale began having second thoughts.
New Hampshire has since closed the bridges and is now talking about tearing them down.
The towns of Brattleboro and Hinsdale have been discussing developing a pedestrian and biking trail across the Connecticut River for more than 10 years.
The plan has been to repurpose two historic bridges that are no longer open to traffic, and develop the island between them for bird watching, walking and maybe even a kayak launch.
Brett Morrison grew up just down the river, in Vernon, and he organized a group of volunteers, The Friends of Island Park, to start cleaning up the island and maybe do some fundraising.
He thought it would be cool to have a celebration this summer, over the July 4 holiday, in anticipation of the big interstate project.
When Hinsdale said it wasn’t interested in having a party, Morrison knew something was up.
“When their town administrator said, ‘the select board has elected not to support your permit to do the party and parade,’ with the state DOT, that’s when we knew that things might be going sideways,” Morrison said.
There is no direct access to the Connecticut River in downtown Brattleboro.
The streets and buildings are generally built with their backs to the river, and Morrison says the river is a resource that should be a part of the town's development.
"Brattleboro needs to find a way to turn itself inside out, and capitalize on its river here," Morrison said. "And with this bridge project, now is our opportunity."
The Connecticut River divides the states of New Hampshire and Vermont, but the river is part of New Hampshire, and that state’s transportation department is responsible for building and maintaining the bridges across it.
When the new bridge opened in December, Hinsdale Town Administrator Kathryn Lynch asked state transportation officials about the plans for the older structures.
She was surprised to find out that it was going to be at least a year or two before work began on the pedestrian and bike paths.
“And I immediately knew that it was not going to be good, and negative behavior was going to increase,” Lynch said. “And I knew that if that went dormant that it was just going to snowball and become so much worse. And it has.”
I knew that if that went dormant that it was just going to snowball and become so much worse. And it has.Kathryn Lynch, Hinsdale town administrator
As the weather got warm, people in Brattleboro experiencing homelessness walked across the bridges and set up tents on the island.
There was drug activity, and fighting, and lots of trash starting to pile up, according to officials in both towns.
The center of Hinsdale is about 7 miles from the bridges, and Lynch says her police officers were spending a lot of time cleaning up and patrolling the area.
And she said just about all of the people who were cited came across the river from Brattleboro.
“It’s a drain. It’s a fiscal drain and it’s a personnel drain,” Lynch said. “We don’t have the manpower that Brattleboro has. We don’t have the budget that Brattleboro does. And for them to ask Hinsdale to absorb all of the cost is pretty irresponsible.”
The situation is made complicated by the fact that New Hampshire owns the bridges and island, preventing Brattleboro police from patrolling the area.
Lynch said Hinsdale also has concerns about the long-term maintenance costs, if the project were to move forward.
The town has told the New Hampshire Department of Transportation that it would not support the bike trails, pedestrian walkway, or any part of developing the island.
Brattleboro needs to find a way to turn itself inside out, and capitalize on its river here. And with this bridge project, now is our opportunity.Brett Morrison, Friends of Island Park
New Hampshire’s assistant commissioner of transportation, David Rodrigue, confirmed that the project is now on hold.
“As projects like this get planned, it often sounds great,” he said. “We all know that doesn’t always come to fruition in the long run. So we really do have to make sure we proceed in the most prudent way.”
Rodrigue said he also heard from some people in Brattleboro who supported taking down the bridges.
Whether or not the Vermont town is able to salvage any part of the plan remains to be seen.
Brattleboro Select Board member Oscar Heller said Hinsdale’s concerns are legitimate.
The select board has spent countless hours trying to address the crime and homelessness that’s on display downtown every day.
And a big part of moving the town forward includes developing the riverfront area, where a new train station and potential riverfront park are in the works.
So Heller doesn’t want Brattleboro to give up on the bridge project.
“I do feel that it is a little unfair to describe what to me is a national societal problem, and say that in this area it’s all because of Brattleboro,” Heller said. “When to me it’s much more likely that that problem concentrates here because we have what those people need.”
The Brattleboro Select Board was split on supporting further work on the bridge development project.
Three members, a majority of the five-member board, said they wanted to work with Hinsdale to find a solution, but one member was opposed and another abstained from the vote, saying it was entirely up to New Hampshire to decide what to do with its bridges.
The board has been meeting with Hinsdale representatives, and with officials from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation.
The department hopes the towns can reach some kind of agreement over the future of the riverfront property.
But in the meantime, it is going to install a sturdy locked gate on the bridges.
