Quechee Gorge Bridge
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The Quechee Gorge Bridge is a historic bridge, carrying U.S. Route 4 (US 4) across
Quechee Gorge The Quechee Gorge is located in Quechee, Vermont along U.S. Route 4. The gorge is 165 feet deep and is the deepest gorge in Vermont. It serves as a popular tourist attraction in Quechee State Park and can be viewed from the U.S. Route 4 bridge an ...
, near the Quechee village of
Hartford, Vermont Hartford is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It is on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White and Connecticut rivers; the Ottauquechee River also flo ...
. Built in 1911, it is Vermont's oldest surviving steel arch bridge. 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 v ...
in 1990.


Description and history

The Quechee Gorge Bridge is located on US 4, roughly midway between
Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...
and
White River Junction, Vermont White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the New England town, town of Hartford, Vermont, Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2 ...
. It is set high above the
Ottauquechee River The Ottauquechee River (pronounced ''AWT-ah-KWEE-chee'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in eastern Vermont in the United States. It is a tributary ...
near the southern end of Quechee Gorge, a major local tourist attraction that is part of
Quechee State Park The Quechee State Park is located on US Route 4 in Quechee, Vermont. The park land is owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers and leased from by the State of Vermont. The park contains the Quechee Gorge, a popular Vermont tourist stop. The land w ...
. It is a three-span steel deck
truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
structure, long, wide, and high carrying two lanes of traffic (one in each direction) and sidewalks on both sides. Its main span is a parabolic spandrel-braced Pratt truss, forming a span of . The arch is mounted on concrete footings, which are located near the stone
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 ...
of the previous bridge. The bridge structure is built out of a series of panels and other steel elements, joined by rivets, and its deck consists of
I-beam An I-beam, also known as H-beam (for universal column, UC), w-beam (for "wide flange"), universal beam (UB), rolled steel joist (RSJ), or double-T (especially in Polish language, Polish, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Spanish language, Spanish ...
stringers covered by a concrete base. with The bridge was built in 1911, its trusses built 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 Pitts ...
to a design by John W. Storrs, a prolific local bridge engineer. It was originally built as a railroad bridge, and was in 1933 adapted for use as a highway bridge; it is from that period that its current deck dates. It was probably built by cantilevering the arch ends over the gorge, braced by stay cables until the ends were joined. It is Vermont's oldest surviving steel arch bridge, and the only one that is spandrel-braced.


See also

* * * * *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Windsor County, Vermont. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Verm ...
*
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 Windsor County, Vermont Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont National Register of Historic Places in Windsor County, Vermont Bridges completed in 1911 Bridges in Windsor County, Vermont Buildings and structures in Hartford, Vermont U.S. Route 4 Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System Steel bridges in the United States Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States Truss arch bridges in the United States