For the first time in nearly two centuries, those traveling on NH Route 11 across the Connecticut River between Charlestown, New Hampshire and Springfield, Vermont will soon no longer have to pay a toll.

Effective July 1, 2001 at 12:01 am, tolls will no longer be collected on what has been known as the Cheshire Toll Bridge. The 2000 session of the New Hampshire legislature repealed a state law that had authorized the use of tolls and user fees to pay for the purchase and rehabilitation of the Cheshire Bridge when the State of New Hampshire purchased the bridge in 1991.

The balance of the debt owed on the Cheshire Bridge, $2.4 million in principal payments and $962,000 in interest payments, will be paid from a special account established in the State highway fund as directed by the new law.

Following the cessation of toll collection at the Cheshire Bridge, the tollbooth facility and the concrete foundation will be removed from the bridge and will be replaced by pavement between July 2 and July 6. Motorists traveling across the bridge during that time period should expect occasional lane closures and drive with caution through the work area. Some minor delays can be expected.

Approximately 4,000 vehicles a day cross the Cheshire Bridge. In fiscal year 2000, tolls and user fees on the bridge generated $495,823 in income. The toll rate for a two-axle vehicle has been 35 cents.

The first Cheshire Bridge, completed in 1806, was a wooden covered bridge established according to a ferry charter granted by Governor Benning Wentworth in 1772. All who crossed it paid a toll. Four-wheeled carriages were charged 25 cents, a horse and a rider six cents and pedestrians one cent.

In 1896, the Springfield Electric Railway Company purchased the Cheshire Toll Bridge and the ferry charter for $8,400. The wooden bridge was replaced with a steel truss structure which cost the company $225,000. The current Cheshire Toll Bridge was built in 1930 and completely rehabilitated in 1992 following its purchase by the State of New Hampshire.

Telephone:
   (603) 271-3734
Fax:
   (603) 271-3914