Holmes Creek Covered Bridge, Charlotte Vermont
- Categories:
- Vermont
- Covered Bridges
- Tied Arch Truss
The Holmes Creek Covered Bridge is one of three covered wood bridges remaining in the town of Charlotte. The bridge is supported by simple laminated arch trusses, a structural system used only in two other covered bridges in Vermont. Standing at the shore of Lake Champlain across the mouth of Holmes Creek, the bridge has a unique lacustrine environment.
The covered bridges of Vermont are among its most cherished and symbolic historic resources. About one hundred of the bridges still stand in the state, the highest concentration by area of covered bridges in the country.
Bridge Description
The Holmes Creek Covered Bridge is a single-span supported by two flanking timber laminated arch trusses. Each arch comprises five layers of planks bolted together horizontally and to the vertical posts of the enclosing shed. Vertically laminated plank braces have been added diagonally between the vertical posts for reinforcement.
The Holmes Creek bridge is 40 feet long overall and 14.5 feet wide, and has an 11.5-foot roadway. The wood floor, which consists of planks laid on edge and parallel to the trusses, is 38 feet long and has been paved. The structure rests on short abutments built of irregular stone blocks laid dry; the north abutment has been capped, and the south abutment is faced, with concrete.
On the exterior, the post-and-beam structure pegged together to enclose the arch trusses of the bridge is sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. The siding stops short of the eaves to leave strip openings along the tops of the side walls. The gable ends are also sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. The portal openings are rectangular with diagonal upper corners. The medium-pitch gable roof is covered with corrugated metal sheeting.
