About

The Taftsville Covered Bridge crosses the Ottauquechee River in the village of Taftsville in Woodstock. It carries Covered Bridge Road between Woodstock Road and Upper River Road, just off U.S. Route 4. The bridge is 189 feet long in two spans of 89 and 100 feet that meet at a central pier in the river gorge. Completed in 1836, it is among the oldest covered bridges in Vermont and in the nation. It is open to vehicles.

History

Floods destroyed three earlier bridges at the site, in 1807, 1811 and 1828. After the 1828 flood, Solomon Emmons III was contracted to build the present bridge, which was completed in 1836. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 28, 1973, and has been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER VT-30). Flooding from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 caused extensive damage. The bridge was closed for two years for repairs and reopened in September 2013. The Woodstock visitor guide notes it has also survived a hit-and-run.

Design

The bridge uses a modified multiple kingpost truss with semi-independent arches. It is not based on a patented design, and its resemblance to the Burr arch truss is superficial. It is 20 feet wide with a 16 foot interior roadway.

Visiting

The bridge is on Covered Bridge Road, just off U.S. Route 4 in Taftsville. The Woodstock visitor guide notes that traffic on it is slow but consistent, so take care when stopping at the roadside.

Sources: Taftsville Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), 4 Covered Bridges That Epitomize Vermont Charm (Woodstock Area Chamber)

Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.