HINSDALE, N.H.-An April 20 joint session of Brattleboro Selectboard members and their counterparts from Hinsdale, New Hampshire, resulted in consensus to form a working group, including board members and police chiefs, to explore solutions and review existing proposals.
But jurisdiction and resource allocation for policing the Anna Hunt Marsh and Charles Dana bridge area remain a critical unresolved issue.
“I believe the goal here is for us to have some nice discussion about the bridges,” said Hinsdale Selectman Chair Steve Diorio of the spans linking the two towns across the Connecticut River.
“Hopefully, we can maybe even garner some more ideas and thoughts,” he said, adding, “I don’t think we’ve really had that opportunity to work together in a real positive manner to get some things done, so the discussion tonight I expect will be very casual, polite.”
The Brattleboro board sought to reopen talks with Hinsdale officials to ask that the current barriers on the bridge be removed and the two closed spans connecting the towns be reopened for a planned June 24 celebration of Brattleboro’s new Amtrak train station.
History: a meeting of the minds
The original agreement between Brattleboro and Hinsdale regarding the bridges was forged a decade ago. It included a stipulation for pedestrian and bicycle use of the century-old spans as economically and recreationally beneficial to both towns.
Hinsdale owns 93% of the spans and Brattleboro owns the remaining 7%. The island they are on — where some say tent encampments have caused numerous nuisance and legal issues — is owned by Great River Hydro, based in Massachusetts.
After the new $62 million General John Stark Memorial Bridge was opened in 2024 just downriver, Hinsdale selectmen voted unanimously to ask the state not to go ahead with a $9.3 million plan to rehabilitate the spans for foot traffic, fearing subsequent maintenance costs as well as myriad safety issues to contend with.
Most Brattleboro Selectboard members did not support razing the spans, preferring instead to reopen the spans to pedestrian traffic as part of a planned greenway trail system connecting New Hampshire with Vermont.
It subsequently came to light that neither potentially rehabilitating the spans nor razing them would occur until 2029 — several years after it had hereto been thought.
Last year, Hinsdale’s board voted to accept an agreement with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to allow the bridges to be rehabilitated for pedestrians.
Also in 2025, both bridges, built in 1920 and 1926 by John Storrs, were named as part of the New Hampshire Preservation Alliance’s 2025 “Seven to Save.” The two are among four surviving Parker high-truss bridges in the state and considered iconic examples of 20th-century steel engineering.
The state and federal government have earmarked money to help stabilize and adapt the bridges. Preservation advocates say the Seven to Save designation can help strengthen future grant applications and partnerships.
In search of compromise
Brattleboro Selectboard members were clear they were asking, for now, for the barrier to be moved so as to make the bridge look less unsightly and not detract from a new restaurant planned at the site.
They asked it be moved farther onto the bridge — about halfway or to the opposite end toward Hinsdale — but not to remove it entirely.
Member Peter Case said he sometimes jokes that the current barrier is reminiscent of a “Cold War” blockade.
Diorio supported the idea, agreeing the current setup is unappealing, but officials, including Hinsdale Police Chief Melissa Evans, expressed significant concerns regarding policing, security, and resource strain, as the bridges and island are in New Hampshire and would require a response from her department.
“Anything that happens on the bridges, we would still have to respond to it, which means we’re going to come over them, come around the other, possibly get struck by the train, and not come back over if we have something in our town,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s feasible right now. […] I personally don’t want to come across.”
Using private security to patrol the bridge was also discussed, but Evans noted such personnel would not have any law enforcement power.
Brattleboro Selectboard member Amanda Ellis Thurber offered that if a way could be found to alleviate the concerns, a temporary compromise to allow the opening for the celebration would be a boon.
Also discussed was a potential two-town cleanup to show cooperation.
Ellis-Thurber and Case offered to be part of an information collaborative group with two members from each board discussing ideas.
That group may also engage with the Friends of Island Park Facebook group to correct potential misinformation posted there, as one attendee noted.
This News item by Virginia Ray was written for The Commons.