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Cohas Brook Trestle Work Complete

Back in June, WMUR’s Jamie Staton provided a well-researched and insightful report on the work being done to complete the historic trestle bridge along the Granite State Rail Trail corridor in Manchester.  Recently (August 26^th) Jamie Staton provided an update to this story highlighting the completion of this trestle bridge.

You can view Jamie’s original (June 6^th) WMUR segment here, and his most recent (August 26^th) update here.  Also, be sure to view this incredible WMUR video segment too. It includes some amazing historical photos, footage and information on this historic railroad line!

Below are some excerpts from these great WMUR stories:

Not far from Manchester’s bustling South Willow Street lies a hidden treasure buried in the woods for decades. The Cohas Brook Train Trestle bridge, originally built in 1849, stood alone for decades. Soon, thousands will be able to see and cross the once mighty wooden bridge as it becomes part of the Granite State Rail Trail.

“It’s super exciting,” said Rick Kfoury, of B&M Railroad Historical Society. “The fact that they are saving it, and they are going to make it look like it used to, as opposed to putting in a steel bridge or something, you just can’t get better than that.”

The trestle, located close to where the airport is now, is 153 feet long, and 41 feet high.  The only known photo of the trestle was taken in 1967, the last time a passenger train went over the bridge.

As of late August 2023, the work to restore this once-hidden bridge is now complete and set to be a part of the Granite State Rail Trail.  Manchester Department of Public Works told News 9 that while the work on the trestle bridge itself is finished, this section of the rail trail remains closed to any users at this point. It is part of a one-mile phase of the trail that still needs to be paved.  This stretch of the rail trail, including the trestle bridge, should be open by the end of the year.

Reprinted from WMUR’s Jamie Staton