The Bradley Covered Bridge is a historic
covered bridge
A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...
, carrying Center Street over Miller Run, a tributary of the
Passumpsic River
The Passumpsic River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Connecticut River, in Vermont. Though primarily a Caledonia County river, it i ...
, in
Lyndon, Vermont
Lyndon is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,491. Lyndon is the home of Lyndon State College. The town contains one incorporated village, Lyndonville, and four unincorporated village ...
. Built in 1878, it is the last of Vermont's many 19th-century covered bridges to carry a numbered state highway (first
Vermont Route 122 then later
Vermont Route 122 Alternate). The bridge was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1977.
Description and history
The Bradley Covered Bridge is located north of central Lyndon, crossing Miller Run on Central Street just south of its junction with Gilman Road. The latter carries Vermont Route 122 on the north side of Miller Run, while Central Street runs south to the downtown area. The bridge is a single-span
queenpost truss
A queen post is a tension member in a truss that can span longer openings than a king post truss. A king post uses one central supporting post, whereas the queen post truss uses two. Even though it is a tension member, rather than a compression me ...
design, long and wide, with a roadway width of . It is covered by a metal roof, and rests on
abutments
An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end which provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...
either faced or built out of concrete. Its sides are sheathed for half their height by vertical board siding. A sidewalk has been cantilevered out to the bridge's east side; it is sheltered by a shed roof offset main roof. The bridge's decking consists of wood planking.
[ with ]
The bridge was built in 1878 by E.H. Stone. It is similar in construction to five other area bridges, whose shared characteristics include extended eaves, half-wall siding, and portals with diagonal corners. In 1973, the bridge was crossed by an overheight truck, doing substantial damage to its south portal.
[ The bridge has since then undergone restoration and was renovated in 1995.
]
See also
*
*
*
*
* List of covered bridges in Vermont
Below is a list of covered bridges in Vermont. There are just over 100 authentic covered bridges in the U.S. state of Vermont, giving the state the highest number of covered bridges per square mile in the United States. A covered bridge is consid ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Caledonia County, Vermont
*
References
{{NRHP in Caledonia County, Vermont
Bridges completed in 1878
Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Buildings and structures in Lyndon, Vermont
Queen post truss bridges in the United States
Covered bridges in Caledonia County, Vermont
National Register of Historic Places in Caledonia County, Vermont
Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
Wooden bridges in Vermont
1878 establishments in Vermont