Cornish
The incident comes after workers twice completed repairs totaling more than $2,000. The Cornish Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying the driver of a full-size white pickup truck that witnesses believe struck the bridge around 1:30 p.m. on Monday.
According to a post on the police department’s Facebook page, witnesses described the vehicle as being owned by a landscaping company. The truck was towing a trailer with “generator-type” items and tall pieces of wood on it.
The truck was traveling from Mill Village Road to Root Hill Road and across the bridge, according to the post.
Cornish Police Chief Doug Hackett on Tuesday urged drivers to be aware of their vehicle’s size and to use an alternative route it they won’t make it safely under an obstacle.
A vehicle in June struck the bridge and caused roughly $1,000 in damage, which the town paid for out of the annual operating budget, Hackett said. Police weren’t able to identify the person who hit the bridge on that occasion, so the town made the repairs shortly after the damage occurred, he said.
The June incident happened two months after workers completed $1,100 in repairs to the bridge following a February incident where a lost school bus driver hit the bridge.
The bus driver was fined; insurance paid for those damages.
The Cornish Selectboard is still discussing ways to best protect the 1880’s bridge, Hackett said, though no decisions have been made.
Possibilities include installing a bar that is the height of the bridge just outside either end to act as a early warning sign. The other possibility is installing cameras to catch motorists, Hackett said.
He said he hopes officials act soon as fall foliage season attracts groups of people to the area.
Anyone with information about the latest incident is urged to call Cornish police at 603-543-0535 or email cornish.police@comcast.net.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.