Flint Covered Bridge, Tunbridge Vermont
- Categories:
- Vermont
- Covered Bridges
- Queenpost Truss
The Flint Covered Bridge is one of five covered wood bridges remaining in the town of Tunbridge. The five bridges, together with another in the adjoining town of Chelsea, cross the First Branch of the White River within a distance of about seven miles, comprising one of the most concentrated groups of covered bridges in Vermont. These bridges have not been altered seriously, and their historic environment of an extraordinarily scenic agricultural valley remains essentially undisturbed.
The Flint bridge is the oldest of the group, having been constructed in 1845. In 1969 the bridge was restored to excellent condition; although extensive, the repairs were sympathetic to the original fabric of the bridge. The Flint bridge stands now as an outstanding example of the functional preservation of a historic structure.
Bridge Description
The Flint Covered Bridge consists of a single span supported by two flanking timber queenpost trusses. The trusses incorporate iron suspension rods that extend from some of the upper apexes of the diagonal braces to the bottom chords.
In 1969 the bridge received extensive repairs. Two laminated stringers were added to the underside of the floor beams parallel to the trusses for reinforcement; each stringer comprises several shorter timbers tie-bolted together. Two cables were stretched criss-cross under the floor beams between the bottom chords for additional lateral bracing. The abutments, which are built mostly of irregular stone laid dry, were capped with concrete to receive new corbels and reinforcing stringers.
The Flint bridge is 88 feet long overall and 17.5 feet wide, with a 15-foot roadway. The wood floor consists of planks laid flat and parallel to the trusses.
On the exterior, the timbers pegged together to form the trusses (and side walls) of the bridge are sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. There are no windows or openings in the side walls. The gable ends are also sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. (All of the siding was replaced at the time of the structural repairs.) The portal openings are rectangular except for diagonal upper corners. The medium-pitch gable roof is covered with standing seam corrugated metal sheeting.
South elevation (1973)
