About
The Kidder Covered Bridge, also known as the Kidder Hill Covered Bridge, carries Kidder Hill Road over the South Branch of the Saxtons River about 0.3 miles south of the center of Grafton village. The single-span bridge dates to about 1870 and has a truss length of 67 feet. It is on a public road and open to vehicles.
History
The builder is unknown. The bridge is the last surviving 19th-century covered bridge in Grafton and the shortest historic covered bridge in Windham County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 2, 1973, and is a contributing property in the Grafton Village Historic District. The structure was rehabilitated in 1995, which the Wikipedia article describes as replacement with a new wooden covered structure in April 1995. Tropical Storm Irene damaged the abutments in 2011, and the bridge was closed until repairs were completed.
Design
Sources differ on the truss. The Vermont Covered Bridge Society lists it as a kingpost and calls it the only kingpost bridge in Vermont that still has sway braces. Wikipedia describes two timber queenpost through trusses, with iron rods reinforcing the vertical timbers. The bridge is built on a 15 degree skew, rests on stone abutments faced with concrete, and has a 12 foot roadway.
Visiting
The bridge is on Kidder Hill Road, about 0.2 miles from Vermont Route 121 in Grafton village. It carries vehicle traffic.
Sources: Kidder Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Kidder Hill Covered Bridge (Vermont Covered Bridge Society), Kidder Covered Bridge (Greg Disch)
Photo: Samturgeon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Location
Kidder Hill Road, Grafton, VermontSimilar Bridges in category
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