About
The Village Covered Bridge, also called the Church Street Covered Bridge, carries Church Street over the North Branch of the Lamoille River in Waterville, just off Vermont Route 109. It is a single-span queenpost truss about 61 feet long, built in 1877, and it carries one lane of vehicle traffic. It is one of five covered bridges on the North Branch within about five miles: three in Waterville and two in neighboring Belvidere.
History
The builder is not known. In 1967 a truck's rear wheels broke through the floor, and steel I-beams were then installed beneath the bridge. In 1970 firefighters hosed down the bridge to keep it from catching fire while a nearby house burned. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 16, 1974.
Design
A queenpost truss uses two vertical posts joined by a horizontal beam, with diagonal braces running to the ends of the span. The bridge has a gabled metal roof and vertical board siding, and it rests on dry-laid stone abutments capped with concrete. Steel I-beams support the wooden plank deck.
Visiting
The bridge is on Church Street in Waterville village, off VT 109. It is open to vehicles as a one-lane crossing.
Sources: Church Street Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), List of covered bridges in Vermont (Wikipedia)
Location
Church Street, Waterville, VermontSimilar Bridges in category
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