York Hill Bridge Project

LINCOLN BO TRUS(7) 22J410 - Bridge 46 on TH 6 over New Haven River.

York Hill Bridge, is located on York Hill Road in Lincoln, and was built in 1919 and reconstructed in 1970. The truss bridge is listed on Vermont's State Register of Historic Places and is one of the last architecturally historical bridges in Lincoln. The bridge is town-owned and sits on a Class 3 town highway.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) conducts bridge inspections and keeps a record of them which can be accessed here. The frequency of the inspections depends on the condition of the bridge.

York Hill Bridge was partially submerged in the 1976, 1998, 2011 and 2023 flood events and has been deteriorating. In response to structural concerns, Lincoln's Selectboard unanimously lowered the bridge's maximum weight limit to 16,000 pounds in 2020, with exemptions for local fuel deliveries, municipal, emergency and agricultural vehicles.

In 2025, VTrans upgraded the inspection frequency of the bridge to annually due to a poor superstructure rating.

The Vermont Town Highway Bridge Program is a grant program for municipalities that provides funds for major rehabilitation projects to extend the life of an existing structure, or projects to reconstruct/replace/eliminate bridges on Class 1, 2, or 3 town highways. Bridges must span 6 feet or greater.

Lincoln requested funding for York Hill Bridge under this program in 2017 but the bridge was not a candidate project at that time. Since then, VTrans completed a reevaluation of the town highway bridge priorities across the entire State and York Hill was added to the list. In June 2022, Lincoln was notified of the addition of York Hill Bridge to the Vermont Town Highway Bridge Program.

As of June 2025, Lincoln and the State of Vermont are in the early planning stages of this project. Construction will likely not begin for another four to five years. Two Local Concerns meetings were held at the being of the Scope of Work creation, April 1st and June 5th, 2025. Below is a summary of key items discussed during the meeting:

Historic Bridge Status: Bridge 46 is listed on the State Register of Historic Places (SRHP) and is eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Rehabilitation of the bridge can only be eliminated from consideration if the repaired bridge cannot meet the Purpose and Need for the project. Identifying the Purpose and Need of the project will be a crucial step in making the right recommendation and obtaining the necessary Section 4(f) and 106 permits for historic mitigation. We will incorporate the Town’s concerns regarding width, substandard hydraulics, and safety into the Purpose and Need statement.

Alternatives Presented: The following five alternatives were presented during the meeting: Truss Rehabilitation, New truss on alignment, New truss off alignment, New steel beam bridge on alignment, & New steel beam bridge off alignment.

Rehabilitation Alternative and Existing Bridge Condition: A meeting participant noted that the deck has undergone substantial concrete patching in the past. The bridge was likely moved from Middlebury to its current location back in 1963 and the superstructure was recently downgraded from fair to poor condition. The floor system is in poor condition as well as the top chord of the truss. A rehabilitation of the existing truss would involve replacement of the abutments (foundations) as well as the majority of the steel remaining on the truss. Additionally, the rehabilitation option would not improve hydraulic conditions or the substandard width. The Selectboard and residents did not seem to favor the rehabilitation option.

Bridge Width: The bridge is currently too narrow, and the Town requires a wider structure to meet the current needs. The existing width is 20 feet rail-to-rail, which is narrower than the standard 22 feet rail-to-rail. The Town expressed interest in additional widening beyond the standard 22-feet to make the bridge safer for shared use. Residents stated that the current bridge cannot accommodate two cars simultaneously, meaning vehicles need to wait for others to cross before getting on the bridge.

Town Share/Act 153: Prior to 2012, the local share was 10% for all Town Highway Bridge projects. Per Act 153 from the 2012 legislative session, by closing the road to traffic during construction, the local share would be reduced by 50%. Additionally, by rehabilitating the existing bridge, the local share would be reduced an additional 50%. The intent of Act 153 is to reduce environmental and Right-of-Way impacts and reduce overall project costs. A chart showing the share options is shown below:

Town Share
Road Closed During Construction	Road Open During Construction
Rehabilitation	2.5%	5%
Replacement	5%	10%

The share for the Town will be laid out for each alternative in the scoping report.

Safety Concerns: A resident stated that the existing truss obstructs visibility and creates a safety hazard at the intersection with W River Road. Most traffic off the bridge turns left onto W River Road, but there are significant site distance issues due to the curve and the non-perpendicular angle where York Hill Road meets W River Road. The Town seemed to express some interest in improving the alignment of this intersection to enhance safety.

Hydraulic Considerations: The bridge is located within a FEMA floodway and the bridge was partially submerged in the 1976, 1998, 2011 & 2023 flood events. Hydraulic modeling will be conducted as part of the design process.

Steel Beam Bridge: The Town noted that a steel beam bridge would be better for winter maintenance and would offer improved safety and visibility compared to the existing truss. A steel beam bridge may or may not meet the requirements for historic mitigation.

The VTrans presentation introducing the plan alternatives and estimated costs can be found here.

As more information becomes available, this page will be updated.