Gifford Covered Bridge
| Gifford Covered Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Carries | Automobile |
| Crosses | Second Branch of White River |
| Locale | Randolph, Vermont |
| Maintained by | Town of Randolph |
| ID number | VT-09-03 |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Covered, King post |
| Material | Wood |
| Total length | 54.75 ft (16.69 m) |
| Width | 14.8 ft (4.51 m) |
| Number of spans | 1 |
| Load limit | 3 tons |
| Clearance above | 10 ft (3.0 m) |
| History | |
| Constructed by | unknown |
| Construction end |
1904 |
  | |
| Coordinates | 43°55′0″N 72°33′25″W / 43.91667°N 72.55694°WCoordinates: 43°55′0″N 72°33′25″W / 43.91667°N 72.55694°W |
| Area | 1 acre (0.4 ha) |
| NRHP Reference # | 74000240[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 30, 1974 |
The Gifford Covered Bridge, also called the C.K. Smith Covered Bridge,[2] is a wooden covered bridge that crosses the Second Branch of the White River in Randolph, Vermont on Hyde Road. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.[1]
The bridge is of King post truss design by an unknown builder. This bridge is one of only two covered bridges in Vermont (the other being the nearby Braley Covered Bridge) in which the king-post truss reaches only half the height of the bridge. The reason for this is that the bridge was most likely a wooden boxed pony truss bridge when first built in 1904. The trusses would have most likely been covered by planking to protect them, rather being left open. See the article on Mean's Ford Bridge in Pennsylvania at BridgeHunter.com for an example of this rare type of bridge.
Recent history
Circa 1955 the bridge deck was reinforced with steel I-beams above the roadway which are in turn tied to I-beams below. This being an unusual way of strengthening a covered bridge. In 2001, extensive repairs were made to the bridge, including raising it up from the river to help prevent flood waters from reaching the deck. Despite the repairs, a relatively low weight limit of 3 tons remains on the bridge. There is evidence that the weight limit is forcing heavy vehicles to ford the shallow river next to the bridge.[3]
References
- 1 2 Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: C.K. Smith Covered Bridge
- ↑ Evans, Benjamin and June. New England's Covered Bridges. University Press of New England, 2004. ISBN 1-58465-320-5
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