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Old 07-22-2018, 06:03 AM   #1
fatlazyless
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Default Livermore Falls State Recreation Area, Holderness

Here's a public beach area on the Pemi River that's located at the bottom and just down the river from a super steep rocky gorge with an antique dilapidated bridge, on the Pemigewassett River, with Livermore Falls pouring down through the rocky gorge ....... about ten minutes from Rt 93-Exit 25 in Holderness which is a very attractive state beach recreation area on the river ..... this old bridge which is very nearby has some serious structural problems ..... its been up since 1886 .... and closed to cars since 1959....yes, very serious structural problems ..... to say the least:

https://www.nhstateparks.org/visit/s...tion-area.aspx

And for a very good bird's eye view, https://www.concordmonitor.com/A-bri...-high-18650254 of the Livermore Falls area that includes a 1:15 video made with a flying drone ...... like, who knew this place exists very close to exit 25 and exit 26 ..... depending on one's opinion on this ...... https://bridgehunter.com/nh/grafton/livermore-falls/ 72-photos .... that old dilapidated iron bridge is either a hidden NH treasure ..... or an attractive nuisance ......on a hot, sunny day?

My opinion ..... tear it down and remove the old bridge.... too many young adults, maybe 15 individuals, have been killed over the years by trying to make the long, thrilling 103', three second plunge from the high bridge down into the river .... it is basically an attractive and deadly nuisance. Once it's been removed, that gorge will look uncluttered, clean and natural; people will say the bridge should have been removed 60-years ago.

Who knows ..... maybe it can be sold on craigslist and trucked away to Vermont or somewhere else that's got the local support and financial means to resurrect an antique 1885 bridge into an historical show piece, otherwise it is a worn out, weathered, ruin of a 133-year old bridge that deserves to be removed. Isn't it about time to tear down this bridge and remove what is a dangerous eyesore.

"Adjacent to the site, but not owned by the state is a lenticular truss bridge (1885)." .... a quote from the NH State Parks website above

Who owns the bridge .... apparently, there is no owner? Something confusing, like three different local governing bodies, Campton, Holderness, and the State of New Hampshire all say "this is not our bridge!" ..... or, something like that?

You know the Pemi River used to be like an open, polluted sewer, up til about 1970, when the US Clean Waters Act helped the local towns pay to clean up their act ...... now, it's a clean river. With that old, dangerous, wreck of a bridge removed, it will improve the river.

Sept 14, 2015; 1:49, Livermore Bridge jumper ..... www.youtube.com/watch?v=aowzwL7g1pQ (good lord!)

Aug 11, 2014; 4:27, Livermore Bridge jumper ...... www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHgwFvTYmHc (holy smokes!)

July 22, 2012; 0:51, Livermore Bridge jumper .... www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqjTBsC4Ow4 (from the top: 103', yikes)

Aug 1, 2010; 8:27, Livermore Bridge jumpers .... www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRyuddpvl5c (live free or die!)
...........

You know, something tells me that if this dangerous, old bridge, spanning the Pemi River since 1886 and closed to use since 1959 were to belong to any one of the Lake Winnipesaukee towns of Meredith, Center Harbor, Moultonborough, Tuftonboro, Wolfeboro, Alton, Gilford, or Laconia ....... it would have been torn down back in the 1960's. But here in 2018, it is still here, with about 15 diving deaths and many more injuries ...... so, why is it still here? It is an attractive nuisance and should be removed.

Looking at the bridge photos, running directly above the bridge, you can see three black cables or wires plus a fourth thinner cable. These above the bridge wires were installed in approximately 2014 and transmit the electric power from the electric generating windmills in Groton, about 5-miles away, to an interstate power line that parallels nearby Rt 93 so most likely these cables would stay in place if the ruined 133-year old bridge were removed.

Starting in the summer of 2016, the State of NH built the Livermore Falls State Park Recreation Area which is immediately down stream from the bridge, and it maybe brings some increased public attention to the bridge which is somewhat hidden from sight, not visible from nearby Route 3, or Route 175. According to the Concord Monitor article the last death was a Massachusetts man in September, 2017. http://www.newhampshire.com/safety/M...Falls-09042017

NH Fish & Game on WMUR News-9; Sept 4, 2017; 1:35 .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jg4u7OgWYo

Saige M. Bradbury, 1992-2017, obituary: www.cartiersfuneralhome.com/obituary/4367945

.......

This bridge first opened for use in 1886, and was closed in 1959 by removing a section of the deck because the whole bridge was shaky and considered unsafe for car traffic. It should have been cut down and removed back in 1960. It is a huge, ugly old 'Frankenstein' monstrosity of a bridge that clutters up the rocky gorge and deserves to be totally removed. Ditto this sentiment for the remaining paper mill ruins. Is time to kill this bridge, before the bridge contributes to killing another bridge jumper. It is very ugly and is a deadly 'attractive nuisance' with related 15-20 deaths and removing it will be an improvement.

Dear State of New Hampshire ....... please tear down this Livermore Falls bridge!

History with photos: https://www.plymouth.edu/center-for-...esentation.pdf

So, just tear down that huge, old, ugly, 1885 Pumpkin Seed iron bridge and for that Pemi River-rocky cliff gorge location, what I recommend is a foot bridge similar to the rope bridge in the Indiana Jones, 'Temple of Doom' movie. Now, that's a swinging and a-swaying old style rope bridge that would be super appropriate for crossing the high gorge above the Livermore Falls ....... yeee-hawww!

A rope bridge just like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPGxSotEa-c. A jungle style, south pacific island, rope, wood step, hanging bridge like this would be a big tourist mecca with people coming from all over to check it out ....... double yeee-hawww!

Ok, so a rope style bridge is not a doable solution, but how's about a steel cable, suspension bridge similar to what the Forest Service has in Lincoln, on the Pemi River, just north of the Kangk Hgwy ...... that would be both physically attractive and doable for a foot traffic bridge.
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Old 07-26-2018, 01:56 PM   #2
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When I was attending PSC in the 70's we use to hang there until a friend dove from half way up and smashed his face to pieces. Had to evac from the other side of the river.
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Old 07-26-2018, 03:21 PM   #3
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We used to jump from this bridge when I attended PSC in the late 80’s. Biggest problem I had was poison ivy climbing back up the river bank. I was covered head to toe. I looked ridiculous. lol.


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