About
The Coventry Covered Bridge, also called the Orne or Lower Covered Bridge, crosses the Black River on Coventry Road in far northern Irasburg, just south of Coventry village. The present bridge is a single-span Paddleford truss about 87 feet long, a replica of the 19th-century bridge that stood here. It carries one lane of vehicle traffic.
History
The original bridge is credited to John D. Colton (Wikipedia also mentions E.P. Colton), and sources date it to 1879 or 1881. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1974, when it was the only historic Paddleford truss on a public road in Vermont. Arsonists burned it on Halloween 1997, and two Vermont men were later convicted. Blow & Cote of Morrisville built the replacement, which officially opened on November 29, 1999.
Design
The Paddleford truss is a multiple kingpost truss with long counterbraces that cross the posts. The Vermont Covered Bridge Society describes this as the only one of Vermont's three Paddleford spans that serves daily traffic. The bridge has a gabled metal roof, vertical board siding that extends to the insides of the portals, and a wooden plank deck.
Visiting
The bridge is on Coventry Road (Back Coventry Road) in Irasburg. It is open to vehicles as a one-lane crossing.
Sources: Coventry Covered Bridge (Vermont Covered Bridge Society), Original Coventry Bridge (Vermont Covered Bridge Society), Orne Covered Bridge (Wikipedia)
Location
Coventry Road, Irasburg, VermontSimilar Bridges in category
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