About
The Union Village Covered Bridge carries Academy Road over the Ompompanoosuc River in the village of Union Village in southern Thetford. It is a single-span multiple kingpost truss about 111 feet long, built in 1867, and it carries one lane of vehicle traffic. It is the longest multiple kingpost span in Vermont and one of two surviving 19th-century covered bridges in Thetford.
History
The builder is not known. The Vermont Covered Bridge Society (VCBS) cites a deck replacement in the 1970s, when distribution beams and steel knee braces were added. Alpine Construction of Schuylerville, New York, carried out a major rehabilitation in 2002 and 2003 that replaced parts of the bottom chords and some vertical members and added new roof rafters, a glulam deck and a new roof. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1974. Over-height vehicles struck it in August 2022, February 2023 and July 2024; the town made repairs, and after the 2023 strike a state engineer determined it could remain open.
Design
A multiple kingpost truss is a row of vertical posts with diagonal braces leaning toward the center of the span; VCBS counts 16 panels in this one. The portals flare outward, the sides have vertical board siding with square window openings, and the roof is standing seam metal. The bridge rests on its original dry-laid stone abutments, faced or capped in concrete, and laminated beams were added under the floor in the 20th century.
Visiting
The bridge is on Academy Road in Union Village. It is open to vehicles, with a posted clearance of 10 ft 6 in.
Sources: Union Village Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Union Village Bridge (Vermont Covered Bridge Society), Covered bridges: at what price? (Sidenote)
Location
Academy Road, Thetford, VermontSimilar Bridges in category
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