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DUMMERSTON -- The town's Green Iron Bridge reopened to traffic last year, providing an alternative West River crossing.
But safety concerns have persisted for some drivers navigating the junction of that single-lane bridge and busy Route 30.
Selectboard members during last Wednesday's meeting reviewed the latest complaint but also said they're not taking any immediate action.
"We're not reopening the discussion about traffic on the bridge at this time," Selectboard member Tom Bodett said after the meeting. "But we've had enough public comment about it that we feel a need to keep our minds open to alternatives."
The board received a letter from Quarry Road resident Jessy Diamondstone, who noted that "When a northbound vehicle on Route 30 slows down to turn onto the bridge, there is some pressure for any traffic coming off the bridge to hurry out of the way, which means entering Route 30."
"The problem is that the vehicle waiting to enter the bridge ... often creates a dangerous blind spot for the vehicle exiting the bridge," Diamondstone's letter said. "I see an accident waiting to happen and urge you to find some flashing ‘oncoming traffic' signs to warn northbound traffic to slow down."
Board members also have heard from residents who want to make the bridge one-way, eliminating the awkward entrance-exit issues raised in Diamondstone's letter.
Complaints multiplied last month when the nearby
"I think, when we had the covered bridge closed, it just amplified it," Bodett said.
To improve visibility during that time, crews trimmed vegetation near the iron bridge. But the Selectboard declined to alter traffic patterns at that time and took no such action at Wednesday's meeting, either.
"I don't know what we do about it," Selectboard member Bill Holiday said.
Nonetheless, the board decided to forward the letter to Matt Mann, a senior planner specializing in transportation issues at Windham Regional Commission.
"Matt has a lot of good experience and resources to make independent recommendations," Bodett said. "What they might be, and what we might do with them, remains to be seen."
In other business Wednesday:
-- Holiday said a committee has been meeting to discuss Dummerston's "ancient roads" and should finish its work by spring.
Towns must formally map all Class 4 roads and "legal trails" before July 1, 2015. Otherwise, those public rights of way will revert to adjoining landowners.
-- Bodett said officials have continued to work with and supply information to Dummerston's Development Review Board, which is considering permits and variances for a new gravel pit that would serve the towns of Dummerston and Putney for decades.
Bodett said he also has responded to new concerns raised by neighbors after a review-board hearing last month.
-- The board met with Windham County Sheriff's Department Cpl. Dana Shepard to discuss recent patrols in Dummerston. Officials praised the department for patrolling Quarry Road to control speeds during the covered-bridge project.
"It paid off," Holiday said.
Mike Faher can be reached at mfaher@reformer.com or 802-254-2311, ext. 275.
