Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Brown's River Bridge
Brown's River Bridge (or Brown Bridge) is one of the oldest covered bridges in Vermont, dating back to 1838. Situated just a short walk down Cambridge Road from the Westford Village Common, it has also carried the name of "Westford Bridge". This bridge is a fine example of a Burr arch truss construction.
It was bypassed by a concrete span in 1965 and continued to fall into disrepair until 1976 when attempts to halt the decline were made by townspeople and a reserve Seabee battalion from Burlington.
The repairs were relatively short-lived. In 1987 efforts were begun to save the bridge. It was removed from over the river and placed on town garage property nearby.
Current Status: Pedestrian Only
Location: Westford, off Cambridge Road
Crosses: Brown's River
GPS: 44.612479N, 73.008096W
Built: 1838 Length: 96.5 feet
Truss Design: Burr arch
WGN*: VT-04-05 NRHP**: No
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
For years, townspeople raised money to repair the bridge and the state was able to supply funding. The rehabilitation was carried out by Milton Graton Associates of New Hampshire and the bridge was ready to be re-installed in 1992. Graton (who died in 1994) was a master bridge-wright whose son continues to carry on the tradition of timber bridge building and restoration all over the country. He was the subject of a National Geographic Society production, which included his work on this bridge.
The project hit a snag in that there were not enough funds to repair the abutments, key people on the project no longer were involved, and State permits were needed. The bridge sat on the town garage property for years. During that time, it was discovered that it needed additional work. Finally, in 2001 the bridge was once again placed back over the river (although it continues to be bypassed).
Despite appearing to have all of the qualifications necessary to place it on the National Register of Historic Places, the Brown's River Bridge is not listed. It seems most of the Vermont covered bridges that are listed were done so in the 1973-74 date range. I can only surmise that Brown's River Bridge didn't meet the criteria somehow, but I fail to figure out why, based on the pretty straight-forward list of requirements. This is why in the little info box above I list the NHRP status as "No" rather than "not eligible".
The bridge appears to be in great shape and probably could handle traffic again if it weren't for the fact that the fire department would need to cross it to get to a good portion of its service area. There are probably not a whole lot of covered bridges that could handle a modern fully loaded fire truck - either due to the weight of the trucks or the sheer size of them.
Visiting the bridge:
Even though bypassed, it remains open to pedestrians and is a popular place for kids to park their bicycles while they make use of the river below for swimming in the summer. Parking at the bridge is pretty much non-existent. There is a wide spot in front of a private home but I'm not sure how receptive the residents are to people parking there (no one was home when I visited).
Alternate parking can be found either at the town common, or if you continue past the bridge from the common, at the town garage/fire department just past the bridge.