Middlebury Gorge Concrete Arch Bridge

Last updated
Middlebury Gorge Concrete Arch Bridge
Middlebury Gorge Concrete Arch Bridge from the south.jpg
USA Vermont location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
LocationVermont 125.svg VT 125 over the Middlebury River, Middlebury, Vermont
Coordinates 43°58′12″N73°5′11″W / 43.97000°N 73.08639°W / 43.97000; -73.08639 Coordinates: 43°58′12″N73°5′11″W / 43.97000°N 73.08639°W / 43.97000; -73.08639
Arealess than one acre
Built1924 (1924)
Architectural styleConcrete arch bridge
MPS Metal Truss, Masonry, and Concrete Bridges in Vermont MPS
NRHP reference No. 91001604 [1]
Added to NRHPNovember 14, 1991

The Middlebury Gorge Concrete Arch Bridge is a historic concrete arch bridge, carrying Vermont Route 125 over the Middlebury River in eastern Middlebury, Vermont. The bridge was built in 1924, and is a well-preserved example of an early concrete bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The Middlebury Gorge Concrete Arch Bridge is located in the upland area of eastern Middlebury, carrying Vermont Route 125 across a narrow gorge en route to one of three passes across the Green Mountains in eastern Addison County. The bridge consists of a basically semicircular arch made out of poured reinforced concrete. Its span is 42 feet (13 m), with a total structure length of 49 feet (15 m). It is 34 feet (10 m) in height and has a width of 24 feet (7.3 m), carrying two lanes of traffic. The sides of the bridge are simply decorated, with a beltcourse running along the length of the top, and paneled pilastered pillars at the corners. [2]

The bridge was built in 1924, and is one of the state's few such bridges to predate (and survive) its devastating 1927 floods. The bridge's scenic siting was judged a better setting for a more monumentally appearing arch bridge than the then-common alternative, a metal truss bridge. The bridge was built out of eight separately poured concrete sections, using locally sourced materials. Its principal defect is the loss of one of the corner posts. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Grist Mill Covered Bridge

The Grist Mill Covered Bridge, also known as the Scott Covered Bridge, the Bryant Covered Bridge, and the Canyon Covered Bridge, is a covered bridge that carries Canyon Road across the Brewster River, off Vermont Route 108 in Cambridge, Vermont. Built in the 19th century, it is one of a small number of surviving Burr arch truss bridges in the state, and is one of three left in Cambridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Arlington Green Covered Bridge United States historic place

The Arlington Green Covered Bridge is a covered bridge located off Vermont Route 313 in Arlington, Vermont. The Town lattice truss bridge carries Covered Bridge Road across Batten Kill. It was built in 1852 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It is one of Vermont's oldest surviving bridges.

Cedar Swamp Covered Bridge United States historic place

The Cedar Swamp Covered Bridge, also known as the Station Bridge and by various other names, was a historic wooden covered bridge spanning Otter Creek between Cornwall and Salisbury, Vermont. The Town lattice truss bridge was built in 1864-1865 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. It was destroyed by fire in September 2016.

Pulp Mill Covered Bridge

The Pulp Mill Covered Bridge, also called the Paper Mill Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses Otter Creek between Middlebury and Weybridge, Vermont on Seymour Street. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Halpin Covered Bridge

The Halpin Covered Bridge, also called the High Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge carrying Halpin Bridge Road across the Muddy Branch of the New Haven River in Middlebury, Vermont. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Mill Covered Bridge (Belvidere, Vermont)

The Mill Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the North Branch Lamoille River on Back Road in Belvidere, Vermont. Built about 1890, it is one of two surviving covered bridges in the rural community. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Morey Memorial Bridge United States historic place

The Samuel Morey Memorial Bridge is a historic bridge carrying New Hampshire Route 25A across the Connecticut River between Orford, New Hampshire and Fairlee, Vermont. The steel through-arch bridge was built in 1937–38 to replace an older wooden bridge which had been damaged by flooding in 1936. It spans 432 feet (132 m), stands about 35 feet (11 m) above the river, and its arches rise 85 feet (26 m) above the roadway. It rests on poured concrete abutments that have a light Art Deco or Moderne styling. Wing walls recede from the abutments into the banks in three stepped sections. Below the bridge in the river is visible some riprap, stone remnants of the old bridge's abutments and central pier. The bridge is of a "tied arch" design, in which the two arches are joined together by ties to distribute the active load. This is in contrast to the Justice Harlan Fiske Stone Bridge joining Brattleboro, Vermont and Chesterfield, New Hampshire, which was built about the same time, and distributes the active load to its abutments. The bridge components were manufactured by the American Bridge Company; construction was by Hagen-Thibodeau Construction Company at a contracted cost of just over $209,000.

Gilead Brook Bridge United States historic place

The Gilead Brook Bridge is a historic bridge which carries Vermont Route 12 across Gilead Brook north of the center of Bethel, Vermont. Built in 1928, it is one of four multi-span Warren deck truss bridges built in the state after extensive flooding in 1927. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Williams River Route 5 Bridge United States historic place

The Williams River Route 5 Bridge is a historic Warren deck truss bridge, carrying U.S. Route 5 (US 5) across the Williams River in Rockingham, Vermont. Built in 1929 and rebuilt in 1971-72, it is one of four bridges of this type and vintage in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Colburn Bridge United States historic place

The Colburn Bridge is a historic bridge in Pittsford, Vermont. It is a masonry arch bridge, carrying U.S. Route 7 (US 7) across Sugar Hollow Brook a short way east of the town center. Built in 1899, it is one of a modest number of surviving masonry arch bridges in the state, and exhibits particularly high quality period workmanship. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Cold River Bridge (Clarendon, Vermont) United States historic place

The Cold River Bridge was a historic bridge that carried Vermont Route 7B (VT 7B) across the Cold River in Clarendon, Vermont. The bridge, a steel Parker through truss, was built by the American Bridge Company in 1928, and was one of many bridges built in the state in the wake of devastating 1927 floods. It carried U.S. Route 7 (US 7) until bypassed by a bridge to the east, and was closed in 1989. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It was subsequently demolished after a report noting substantial failures.

Marble Bridge (Proctor, Vermont) United States historic place

The Marble Bridge, formally known as the Fletcher D. Proctor Memorial Bridge, carries Main Street across Otter Creek in the center of Proctor, Vermont. Built in 1915 and widened in 1935-36, it is a well-preserved example of early concrete bridge construction, and is decoratively faced in local marble. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Bridgewater Corners Bridge United States historic place

The Bridgewater Corners Bridge carries Vermont Route 100A across the Ottauquechee River in the Bridgewater Corners village of Bridgewater, Vermont. It was built in 1928 by the American Bridge Company, following devastating flooding. It is a single-span Pratt through truss structure, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Kedron Brook Bridge United States historic place

The Kedron Brook Bridge is a historic stone arch bridge, carrying Densmore Hill Road across Kedron Brook in southern Woodstock, Vermont. Built about 1810, it is one of the state's older stone bridges, built from locally gathered stone. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

Ottauquechee River Bridge United States historic place

The Ottauquechee River Bridge is a steel girder bridge carrying United States Route 5 across the Ottauquechee River in Hartland, Vermont. The bridge replaced a c. 1930 Warren deck truss bridge, built in the wake of Vermont's devastating 1927 floods, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Quechee Gorge Bridge United States historic place

The Quechee Gorge Bridge is a historic bridge, carrying U.S. Route 4 (US 4) across Quechee Gorge, near the Quechee village of Hartford, Vermont. Built in 1911, it is Vermont's oldest surviving steel arch bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Coburn Covered Bridge United States historic place

The Coburn Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, carrying Coburn Road over the Winooski River in eastern East Montpelier, Vermont. Built in 1851, it is the town's only surviving 19th-century covered bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Missisquoi River Bridge

The Mississquoi River Bridge is a steel truss bridge, spanning the Missisquoi River between Richford, Vermont and Sutton, Quebec on the Canada–United States border. It connects Chemin de la Vallée Missisquoi in Sutton with Vermont Route 105A in Richford, between the border stations of the East Richford–Glen Sutton Border Crossing. The bridge was built by the state of Vermont in 1929, and is one of two in the state built by the Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Company. It was listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Jeffersonville Bridge United States historic place

The Jeffersonville Bridge is a steel girder bridge carrying Vermont Route 108 across the Lamoille River, just north of the village of Jeffersonville, Vermont. It was built in 2014, replacing a Parker through truss bridge built in 1931; the latter bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Bridge Number VT105-10 United States historic place

Bridge Number VT105-10 is a historic bridge, carrying Vermont Route 105 across the Missisquoi River in Sheldon, Vermont. Built in 1947 and rehabilitated in 1980, it is the state's oldest surviving four-span girder bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Lauren Stahl (1991). "NRHP nomination for Middlebury Gorge Concrete Arch Bridge". National Park Service . Retrieved 2016-09-04. with photos from 1991