ROYALTON — A judge has found in favor of the town in a dispute over the closed Foxstand Bridge.
Royalton resident Tyler LaGrange sought damages from the town, contending officials had neglected the bridge, leading to its closure in April 2024. It isn’t due to reopen until late 2028.
The court found that LaGrange “had not met his burden of proof to demonstrate a lawful claim against the Town of Royalton,” Judge Kerry A. McDonald-Cady wrote in a one-paragraph ruling issued April 29, the same day she heard arguments in the case.
“It was only 90 bucks to file the small claims suit,” LaGrange, a computer game designer who moved to Royalton with his wife and two children in 2021, said in a phone interview. “I’m not mad that I lost 90 bucks on that.”
He estimated that the extended closure of the bridge, which crosses the White River and links Royalton Hill and Gilman roads to Route 14, would cost $16,000 in added travel and wear and tear on his family’s vehicles and sought that amount from the town. LaGrange’s house is on a paved road near the bridge, giving him and his family a long detour on Back River Road to South Royalton or on Gilman Road to Bethel, most of it on gravel.
LaGrange filed suit in February in part to keep pressure on town and state officials to replace the bridge. He argued under language in state law that if a person suffers damages “by reason of the insufficiency or want of repair of a bridge or culvert that the town is liable to keep in repair,” they can recover those losses in a civil suit.
But towns are generally immune to such claims. LaGrange said the judge brought up a case from the 19th century in which a man drowned while trying to ford a river on his horse because a bridge was out. The man’s family sued and lost.
“I wasn’t thrilled about the reasoning behind it, but it’s hard to sue the town,” LaGrange said.
Town Administrator Ryan Britch said he couldn’t comment accurately on what the lawsuit cost the town. Some of the legal expenses will be covered by insurance, he said.
“I look forward to redirecting staff time, town resources, and taxpayer dollars towards other competing priorities now that the matter is closed,” Britch wrote in response to emailed questions.
The Foxstand Bridge was installed in 1928, after the devastating flooding of November 1927. It has been ticketed for imminent replacement since 2022. It was closed in 2024 because engineers assessing the structure found substantial corrosion.
Initially, plans called for a temporary bridge, but that was put on hold since the state’s only temporary span long enough to cover the 165-foot crossing was already in use elsewhere. Town officials also opted against a plan to install a temporary bridge because of its cost and because it would have delayed the permanent replacement far longer.
Town officials continue to put pressure on the state to address the closed bridge. Replacement is slated to start next year and be completed in the fall of 2028. Current estimates put the cost of construction at $11.3 million, with the town’s 5% share amounting to $565,000.
Selectboard member Rosella “Nell” Gwin testified before the Senate Transportation Committee on April 23 in an effort to expedite the bridge’s replacement. The committee hearing offered a window into the struggles the state faces to replace aging town-owned bridges.
“The squeaky hinge gets the grease, and I want to make sure we’re doing everything possible for the many frustrated members of our community, and for our town in general so that we can move forward from responding to crumbling infrastructure and put our resources, time and hearts into other projects that will benefit our town,” Gwin told the committee, according to a recording of her testimony. “We are stuck, in many ways, on this project and we must get unstuck.”
After Gwin laid out her case for swift replacement of the Foxstand Bridge, it became clear that similar issues are playing out across the state.
“It’s going to give you no comfort this, but there are … 17 bridges in the state that have temp bridges over them,” Senate Transportation Chairman Richard Westman, R-Cambridge, said in response to Gwin’s testimony. “There are another 18 that are closed, so there are 35 town bridges across the state” that await replacement.
“This is an ongoing problem,” Westman added.
