Montgomery Covered Bridge, Waterville Vermont
- Categories:
- Vermont
- Covered Bridges
- Queenpost Truss
The Montgomery Covered Bridge, together with two other covered wood bridges in the town of Waterville, and two bridges of the same type in the adjoining town of Belvidere, cross the North Branch of the Lamoille River within a distance of about five miles, comprising one of the most concentrated groups of covered bridges in Vermont. The five bridges are important and distinctive elements of the historic environment of the Lamoille River valley.
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 United States.
Bridge Description
The Montgomery Covered Bridge consists of a single span supported originally by two flanking timber queenpost trusses. The trusses incorporate iron suspension rods which extend from the upper apexes of the diagonal braces to the bottom chords. In 1971 the timber deck structure was replaced with four longitudinal steel beams. The timber trusses now carry only the superstructure of the bridge.
The Montgomery Bridge is 70.5 feet long and 15 feet wide, and has a 12-foot roadway. The wood floor, which consists of planks placed on edge and perpendicular to the trusses, has been laid directly on the steel deck beams. The floor is 59 feet long, and begins about six feet inside each portal; the approaches are concrete.
The structure rests on abutments built originally of irregular stone slabs laid dry. The north abutment, which stands on a prominent outcrop of bedrock, has been faced with concrete. The south abutment has been capped with concrete.
On the exterior, the timbers pegged and bolted together to form the trusses (and side walls) of the bridge are sheathed with unpainted flush boards hung vertically. The siding stops short of the eaves to leave strip openings along the tops of the walls.
The gable ends are also sheathed with unpainted flush boards hun vertically. The boards curve outward beyond the line of the side walls to form half-arches under the eaves. The portal openings were framed originally with semi-elliptical arches. One upper corner of the south portal opening retains its original curvature. The north portal opening is now rectangular. The medium-pitch gable roof, which is flush with the gable ends, is covered with corrugated metal sheeting.
South portal (1974)
