Claremont closes Rail Trail trestle bridge for decking repairs

The Bobby Woodman Rail Trail trestle bridge closed Thursday at 7 a.m. for decking repairs, shutting off pedestrian and bicycle traffic on both sides of the span for about a week, weather permitting.

The bridge decking has significantly deteriorated and needs to be replaced to keep the trail safe and accessible. Crews are set to remove and replace the worn decking, install new pressure-treated lumber and make any structural repairs needed as part of the project. The closure leaves walkers, cyclists and commuters who use the Rail Trail unable to cross the trestle until the work is finished, although the open portions of the trail on either side remain part of the city’s 9-mile corridor.

City procurement documents identify the work as the Bobby Woodman Rail Trail Trestle Bridge Decking Project. Trail closures are built into the construction plan so the public and workers are kept separated while the bridge is repaired.

The project is being paid for through a grant awarded to the Claremont Parks & Recreation Department, with a small local match from the city. City officials sought to extend a Recreation Trails Program grant deadline from Dec. 31, 2025, to Aug. 31, 2026, and the governor-and-council request listed a price limitation of $30,318.10.

The bridge sits on the Sugar River Recreational Rail Trail, a multi-use route that runs 9 miles from the Newport Recreation Department on Belknap Avenue in Newport to Washington Street in Claremont. The Claremont section is identified locally as the Bobby Woodman Rail Trail. An Outdoor Recreation Roundtable grant also helped Claremont plan a walkway connection from Wall Street to the rail trail bridge over the Sugar River.

Library of Congress records describe the earlier Claremont Railway Bridge as a 1903 riveted steel Warren deck truss bridge, and note its role in the city’s electrified street rail service in the first half of the 20th century.