Missisquoi River Bridge


The Mississquoi River Bridge is a steel truss bridge, spanning the Missisquoi River between Richford, Vermont and Sutton, Quebec on the Canada–United States border. It connects Chemin de la Vallée Missisquoi in Sutton with Vermont Route 105A in Richford, between the border stations of the East Richford–Glen Sutton Border Crossing. The bridge was built by the state of Vermont in 1929, and is one of two in the state built by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company. It was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Description and history

The Missisquoi River Bridge is located in northeastern Richford and southeastern Sutton, at a point where the Missisquoi River flows across the international border in a roughly southwesterly direction. The bridge is just northwest of the small village of East Richford, with only Canada's Glen Sutton border station in the immediate vicinity north of the border. The bridge is a two-span metal Parker through truss structure, in length, and was assembled with riveted construction. The trusses rest on abutments and a pier of poured concrete. One span is long, and the other is long. The bridge is wide, and carries two lanes of traffic on a concrete deck. The maximum truss depth is and the end portals have clearance of.
The bridge was built by the state of Vermont in 1929, as part of a program to build more than 1,200 bridges after devastating floods in 1927. The bridge was manufactured by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company, and is only one of two known bridges in the state to be built by that firm. The bridge exhibits characteristics of standardized design developed by the state to speed construction of bridges at the time. The border crossing point was at the time economically important, providing access to the markets of southern Quebec to the industries in Richford.
The bridge is currently closed and is being rehabilitated, with a re-opening date scheduled for 2018-10-16.

Border crossing

The East Richford–Glen Sutton Border Crossing connects the towns of Sutton, Quebec and Richford, Vermont via the Missisquoi River Bridge on the Canada–US border. In 1936, the United States built a large border station which is still in use today, and is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.