Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge

About

The Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge carries Cox Brook Road over Cox Brook, a tributary of the Dog River, west of the village of Northfield Falls. It is a single-span queenpost truss bridge, about 52 feet long, built about 1872. It carries one lane of vehicle traffic and is maintained by the Town of Northfield. It is also known as the Third bridge.

History

The bridge was built about 1872; its builder is unknown. In 1966 four steel beams were added beneath the floor to carry the deck, so the trusses now support only the bridge's own structure. The siding was repaired and the bridge painted barn red inside and out in 1978, and around 2002 some roof boards were replaced and a standing-seam steel roof was installed. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1974. In August 2011 Tropical Storm Irene pushed a tree up through the bridge into its roof; it reopened to traffic a few weeks later.

Design

The queenpost truss uses two vertical posts joined by a horizontal beam. The trusses are about 51.5 feet long and the bridge is about 14 feet wide, with concrete-faced abutments and a metal gabled roof.

Visiting

The bridge is on Cox Brook Road, a public road, and is open at all times.

Sources: Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge (Vermont Covered Bridge Society), Upper Cox Brook Covered Bridge (Greg Disch)