About
The Jaynes Covered Bridge, also called the Codding Hollow, Upper or Kissing Bridge, carries Codding Hollow Road over the North Branch of the Lamoille River in northern Waterville, just east of Vermont Route 109. It is a single-span queenpost bridge about 56.5 feet long, built around 1877. It is open to vehicles and is the only access to the farms and homes in Codding Hollow.
History
The builder is not known. The bridge is named for a family who lived nearby when it was built. In the 1950s an out-of-town visitor put up a Kissing Bridge sign as a prank, and locals have kept the name. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1974.
In 1960 a dump truck loaded with gravel broke through the floor, and the bridge was rebuilt with a separate roadway carried on four steel beams. A new steel roof went on around 2001.
Design
The queenpost truss uses two vertical posts linked by a horizontal beam. On this bridge the deck rests on steel I-beams topped with wood planking, and steel plates reinforce the truss joints. It is one of three 19th century covered bridges in Waterville and one of five on the North Branch within about five miles.
Visiting
The bridge is on Codding Hollow Road, a road that ends at the Long Trail. It is one lane with a 12-foot roadway and is open to vehicles.
Sources: Jaynes Covered Bridge, Wikipedia, Jaynes Covered Bridge, Vermont Covered Bridge Society
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