Foundry Bridge
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The Foundry Bridge is a historic Warren
pony truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...
bridge, carrying Foundry Road across the First Branch White River in
Tunbridge, Vermont Tunbridge is a town in Orange County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census the town population was 1,337. The town consists of three village centers, all situated on Vermont Route 110 in the valley of the first branch of ...
. Built in 1889, it is one of the state's oldest wrought iron bridges, and the only surviving example in the state of work by the Vermont Construction Company, its only local manufacturer of such bridges. It 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 ...
in 2007.


Description and history

The Foundry Bridge is located in the village of North Tunbridge, providing access across the First Branch White River to rural eastern parts of the town via Foundry Road. The bridge is a single-span Warren pony truss, set on abutments of dry laid stone. The bridge is trapezoidal in profile, its trusses in length. The roadway width is , with a total structure width of . Distinctive features of the trusses indicating its age include riveted joints (an advance over older pin connections) and posts between the truss panels. The bridge deck consists of timber stringers on a wrought iron frame, supporting a wooden bridge deck. The web of truss components reflects a means of fabrication that was obsolete at the time, but still in use by the builder, who had not yet adopted recent advances in steel rolling technology. with The bridge was built in 1889, its trusses fabricated by the Vermont Construction Company of
St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...
, which was the only
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
business of the period to build wrought iron trusses. The bridge, built for the town at a cost of $876, provided access from the village of North Tunbridge to two of its major industries, Smith's Foundry (for which the road is named) and a gristmill. The Vermont Construction Company was in business from 1885 to 1901, when it was acquired by the
American Bridge Company The American Bridge Company is a heavy/civil construction firm that specializes in building and renovating bridges and other large, complex structures. Founded in 1900, the company is headquartered in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pitt ...
.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, Vermont __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Orange County, Vermont. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, Vermont, ...
*
List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont This is a list of bridges and tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. state of Vermont. See also * List of covered bridges in Vermont * List of non-authentic covered bridges in Vermont References {{DEFAULTSORT:List ...


References

{{NRHP in Orange County, Vermont Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Orange County, Vermont Bridges completed in 1889 Bridges in Orange County, Vermont Buildings and structures in Tunbridge, Vermont Wrought iron bridges in the United States Warren truss bridges in the United States