Stone Bridges

Letter to Editor:
Economic Opportunity, Building Better bridges.

The time to replace our steel and concrete bridges has come at a time when we have less money available for rebuilding them.  The current practice of building from steel and concrete needs to be reevaluated.
Here in New England we have an abundance of stone. Barre, Vermont is called the "Granite Capital of the World", but granite in quantity lies in many locations. From 1780 to about 1880 the best bridges along the Connecticut River were made of stone; they are still in use and in good repair.
It was J. P. Morgan who made cheap steel available, and soon steel and concrete bridges replaced stone as the preferred building materials. Morgan became a billionaire. It was quicker and cheaper to build, but unfortunately, bridges did not last very long.  Furthermore, concrete manufacturing is a major polluting industry, requiring enormous energy to cook limestone, releasing vast amounts of CO2 as greenhouse gas. Steel and concrete are sort of the fast foods of the construction industry.
New England is rich in fine stone.  Stone construction uses local materials and local labor.  Stone can be maintained and will last indefinitely. Initial construction may seem to cost more, but all the revenue is paid to the local economy and comes back many time over as people spend locally. A stone bridge, if small and can be built from rough stone,  will cost little,  or if from cut stone, may cost twice as much as a steel/concrete bridge, but will last at least 5 times as long. The savings over the life of a stone bridge is enormous. And stone bridges are beautiful.
It is unwise to buy steel from China when we have fine stone. We cannot afford to buy Chinese take-out when we live in an abundant garden. Penny wise and pound foolish.  What will it take to get the Department of Transportation to specify stone bridges, curbing, paving stone, etc. and build us a better New England and a promote a healthy economy?. Tell your legislators to build us stone bridges.

timothy k. price
fairlee, VT
802-333-4345