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Vale Reservation Causeway
Photos
Vale Reservation Causeway
View on causeway roughly halfway across
Photo taken by Nick Boppel in March 2022
Enlarge
BH Photo #527076
Description
This structure is likely modern construction built specifically for this trail but this is an unusual structure. This is a timber stringer bridge that is actually part floating - it's not quite a pontoon bridge but the piers do not appear to extend all the way to bedrock and the structure seems to be partially floating on top of the wetlands which it crosses (at least when the water levels are high). This is one of only two examples of "floating boardwalk" that I know of which are permanent structures - the other being up in northern New Hampshire at Squam Lake. This structure is quite hidden and is not visible from any public road; the only way I knew about its existence was from riding the nearby commuter train that runs on tracks immediately west of the reservation.
This is one of two bridges on this trail, with the other being a timber Howe pony truss bridge across the Shawsheen River proper a short distance to the north.
The trail and its surrounding area is maintained by a local group known as the Andover Village Improvement Society (AVIS).
Facts
- Overview
- Timber stringer bridge over Wetlands on Vale Reservation Trail
- Location
- Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts
- Status
- Open to pedestrians
- Design
- Floating timber stringer boardwalk/causeway
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +42.63054, -71.16005 (decimal degrees)
42°37'50" N, 71°09'36" W (degrees°minutes'seconds")
- Approximate UTM coordinates
- 19/322883/4722050 (zone/easting/northing)
- Inventory number
- BH 97287 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Update Log
- March 23, 2022: New photos from Nick Boppel
Sources
- Nick Boppel - nickboppel01 [at] gmail [dot] com