Bedell Covered Bridge, Haverhill New Hampshire
The Bedell Covered Bridge, which has a length (at floor level) of 382 feet divided into two equal spans, ranks among the longest covered wood bridges remaining in the United States. The Bedell Bridge has two of the longest clear spans supported by Burr arch trusses in the country. Although reinforced by laminated arches added in 1929, the original trusses with single-timber arches are still intact. However, owing to a lack of maintenance, the trusses had deteriorated seriously. In 1974, work was begun to rehabilitate the structure.
The Bedell Bridge is the fifth bridge on its site across the Connecticut River, the earlier bridges having been built in 1805, circa 1821, 1851, and 1863 (the first covered bridge). The present bridge was constructed in 1866 to replace the earlier covered bridge, which had been demolished the same year by hurricane winds. The designer and/or builder of the Bedell Bridge is unknown.
A private company owned the Bedell Bridge from the time of its construction until 1916. In that year, the two towns which the bridge connects, Haverhill, NH and Newbury, VT, negotiated the purchase of the bridge, and immediately eliminated the tolls previously charged. The bridge remained open to public travel until 1958, when, owing to advanced structural deterioration, the bridge was legally closed to vehicles. In 1967, the towns transferred ownership of the bridge to the State of New Hampshire.
Bridge Description
The Bedell Covered Bridge crosses the Connecticut River between Haverhill, New Hampshire and South Newbury, Vermont. The low water line on the west (Vermont) side of the river marks the boundary between the states. Most of the bridge, therefore, stands in New Hampshire; only the west end is in Vermont. Despite its interstate location, the entire bridge now belongs to the State of New Hampshire.
The Bedell Bridge consists of two spans, each of which is supported by two flanking timber Burr arch trusses. The trusses incorporate iron reinforcing rods that connect the top and bottom chords parallel to the wood diagonal braces. Iron tension rods connect the bottom chords to increase the lateral rigidity of the structure.
Each truss of the bridge has an original single-timber arch which extends the length of one span. The individual members of each arch were sawn and hewn to the required curvature; they are butted together between, and bolted through, the upright members of the truss. An auxiliary laminated plank arch, comprised of fourteen layers bolted together, has been added to each truss of each span for reinforcement. The laminated arches support iron suspension rods which, in turn, support wood beams placed beneath, and transverse to, the bottom chords.
The structure rests on abutments built of irregular stone blocks laid dry. The central pier is built of irregular stone blocks which have been mortared together. On its upstream (north) side, the pier flares outward toward the river bed to deflect floating debris and ice. A concrete footing has been poured under the east abutment, which had been undermined and had begun to settle.
The Bedell Bridge has an overall length of 382 feet at floor level, divided into two equal spans of 191 feet each. The upper ends of the side walls flare outward to meet the gable ends, which overhang the floor five feet at each portal. The bridge is 23 feet wide overall and has an 18.5-foot original roadway, now reduced by the width of the auxiliary arches.
On the exterior, the spruce timbers bolted together to form the trusses (and side walls) of the bridge are sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically, many of which are currently missing. Similar siding painted gray protects the ends of the trusses immediately inside the portals. The siding stops short of the eaves to leave strip openings along the tops of the walls.
The gable ends are sheathed with clapboards hung horizontally and painted gray; they project horizontally a short distance beyond the flared upper ends of the side walls. The portal openings are rectangular except for short diagonal upper corners, which reflect the line of the interior struts.
A medium-pitch gable roof covers the entire bridge, with overhangs both at the eaves and the gables. The roof is sheathed with corrugated metal sheeting laid directly over the older wood shingles. Several pieces of the metal sheeting are currently missing, exposing the wood shingles.
The Bedell Bridge has the numbers (New Hampshire) 29-05-12 and (Vermont) 45-09-12 in the World Guide to Covered Bridges published by the National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. The New Hampshire Department of Public Works and Highways has assigned the number 063/162 to the bridge.
View of interior of east span showing south truss (1974)
South elevation (1974)
