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Addison
County, Vermont
(WGN
45-01-03) (WGCB VT-01-03): (1824;
repaired 1960; restored 1994)
A single-span
Town
lattice Truss 66' 2" over Muddy Branch of
the New Haven River. Located: NE of Middlebury, Vermont
on Halpin Lane at Middlebury/Weybridge, Vermont town line. Directions:
From
jct. SR 30 and US 7 in Middlebury, Vermont, go north on US 7 to left onto
River Road and make a right onto Halpin Road (just prior to a modern steel-and-concrete
bridge). Continue on Halpin Road to a left onto Halpin Bridge Road
to the bridge. Vermont's
oldest surviving
plank lattice bridges still in use and serves only one family. Originally
built to facilitate removing marble from the Halpin quarry at Marble ledge.
At 41' it is the, highest bridge above a stream in Vermont. (The
Vermont Historic Division has its height as 46 feet.) It originally
had very tall cut marble abutments, which have been replaced with cast
concrete. Minor repairs were made to the bridge in the 1960s.
It received a complete restoration in 1994 after it was discovered that
the abutments were in poor condition. It was completely removed by
a crane from its original abutments, and replaced after new poured concrete
abutments replaced the earlier dry marble abutments . At the same
time some of the bottom chord and lattice truss members were replaced,
as well as installing a galvanized steel roof in place of the old
wood shakes, replacing some knee braces and roof lateral braces as well
as replacing the boarding on the sides and on the portals. Gray weathered
vertical boarding covers the sides to the eaves, the very narrow
weather panels inside the entrances, and the portals. Also known
as the High Covered Bridge. It was listed on the National
Register of Historic Places on September 10, 1974. (Sep 2004) |
