A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges typically have a lifespan of only 20 years because of the effects of rain and sun, but a covered bridge could last over 100 years. In the United States, only about 1 in 10 survived the 20th century. The relatively small number of surviving bridges is due to deliberate replacement, neglect, and the high cost of restoration.
A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analyzed by 19th and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.
The Brown Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge in Shrewsbury, Vermont. Located in the northwestern part of the town, it carries Upper Cold River Road over the Cold River. It was closed to vehicular traffic in 2011 due to damage from Hurricane Irene and reopened as a National Historic Site on July 5, 2016. Built in 1880 by noted Vermont bridgewright Nichols M. Powers, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, cited as one of the finest and least-altered examples of a Town lattice truss covered bridge in the United States.
The Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge is a 157-year-old, two-span, timber Town lattice-truss, interstate, covered bridge that crosses the Connecticut River between Cornish, New Hampshire, and Windsor, Vermont. Until 2008, when the Smolen–Gulf Bridge opened in Ohio, it had been the longest covered bridge in the United States.
Built in 1845, the Museum Covered Bridge originally spanned the Lamoille River in Cambridge, Vermont. The trusses for the double bridge were assembled in a field next to the chosen site. Measuring 168 feet (51 m) in length, with two vehicle lanes and a footpath, it is an impressive example of the engineering principles and bridge-builder's craft practiced during the 19th century. The bridge was lighted by kerosene lamps.
The Taftsville Historic District encompasses a historic 19th-century industrial village that is mostly in Woodstock, Vermont. Flanking the Ottauquechee River and extending up Happy Valley Road, the area developed around a metal tool factory established by members of the Taft family in 1793. Important elements from its early history include the Taftsville Store, built by the Taft family in 1840, and the Taftsville Covered Bridge, built in 1836. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.
The Great Eddy Covered Bridge, also called the Big Eddy Covered Bridge or Waitsfield Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Mad River in Waitsfield, Vermont on Bridge Street. Built in 1833, it is one of Vermont's oldest covered bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
The Morgan Covered Bridge, also known as the Upper Covered Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the North Branch Lamoille River in Belvidere, Vermont on Morgan Bridge Road. Built about 1887, it is one of two covered bridges in Belvidere, and one of five in a five-mile span that all cross the same river. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
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.
New Henniker Bridge or New Bridge was a covered bridge in West Hopkinton, New Hampshire, which carried Henniker Road over the Contoocook River. The truss bridge was completed in 1863, and was the second bridge on the site. The original stone arch bridge was built in 1845 and was washed away by flood in 1852. The bridge was just over 20 feet (6.1 m) wide and 180 feet (55 m) long, and consisted of a single span supported by two triple lattice trusses resting on granite abutments. The patent drawings show an all-timber truss with fixed intersection angles in the center of the span. At the ends of the span the angles of the diagonals vary. The end post is vertical, and each brace further from it is sloped a little more.
Best's Covered Bridge(akaSwallow's Bridge) is a historic covered bridge in West Windsor, Vermont, that carries Churchill Road over Mill Creek, just south of Vermont Route 44. Built in 1889, it is an architecturally distinctive laminated arch structure with a post-and-beam superstructure. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Bridge 15, also known locally as the River Bridge, spans the White River in Sharon, Vermont. Built in 1928, this multi-span Parker truss bridge is one of a shrinking number of White River crossings of this type. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
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.
The Lincoln Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, just south of U.S. Route 4 in West Woodstock, Vermont. Built in 1877, it is one of the only known examples of a wooden Pratt truss bridge in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
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.
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.
The West Woodstock Bridge is a historic steel bridge, carrying Mill Road across the Ottauquechee River in the village of West Woodstock, Vermont. Built in 1900, it is the oldest documented Pennsylvania through truss bridge in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The Willard Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge carrying Mill Street across the Ottauquechee River in Hartland, Vermont. It is the eastern of two covered bridges on the road, which are connected via a small island in the river; the western bridge was built in 2001. This bridge, built about 1870, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
The Woodstock Warren Through Truss Bridge was a historic iron bridge that carried Bridges Road across the Ottauquechee River in western Woodstock, Vermont. The bridge was built in 1925, and was a rare example of the state of a double-intersection Warren through truss. The bridge was swept away by flooding caused by Hurricane Irene in 2011; it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.
The East Shoreham Covered Railroad Bridge is a historic covered bridge spanning the Lemon Fair River near East Shoreham, Vermont. Built in 1897 by the Rutland Railroad Company, it is the state's only surviving example of a wooden Howe truss railroad bridge. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
