Hall Covered Bridge - Osgood Bridge, Bellows Falls Vermont
- Categories:
- Vermont
- Covered Bridges
- Town Lattice Truss
At one time seventeen covered highway and railroad bridges stood in the town of Rockingham. The Hall Covered Bridge is one of three original to the town that survives. Of the three, the Hall bridge remains closest to its original structural condition, lacking the reinforcement that has been added to the other bridges. All three bridges are the work of Sanford Granger, the most prominent bridge builder in northern Windham County, and date from the period 1867-71.
Vermont's covered bridges are among the state's most cherished and symbolic historic resources. About one hundred bridges still stand in the state, the greatest concentration by area of covered bridges in the country.
Bridge Description
The Hall Covered Bridge consists of a single span supported by two flanking timber Town lattice trusses. At each corner of the bridge, an iron buttress extends from an extended floor beam to the upper side of the bridge, providing lateral support for its superstructure. Guy cables have been strung to the river bank from the southeast corner of the bridge to give additional lateral support. The abutments are constructed of stone slabs without mortar. The bridge is 117 feet long and 15 feet wide, with a 12-foot roadway.
On the exterior, the large planks pegged together diagonally to form the trusses (and side walls) of the bridge are sheathed with flush boards hung vertically. Similar siding protects the ends of the trusses immediately inside the portals. There are three small diamond-shaped windows in the west side of the bridge and small diamond-shaped openings (one irregular) in the east side. The gable ends are sheathed with flush boards hung horizontally. The roof of the bridge is covered with corrugated metal sheeting.
