Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Cooley Bridge
Current Status: Open
Location: Pittsford, on Elm Street
Crosses: Furnace Brook
GPS: 43.690369N, 73.028603W
Built: 1849 Length: 50 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: VT-11-07 NRHP**: Yes
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
One of four covered bridges located in the town of Pittsford, the Cooley Bridge may be one of the more interestingly shaped ones. The bridge was named for the Cooley family that owned land around it.
While the trusses are constructed using the Town lattice, one of the most popularly used designs, the gables extend out a fair distance over the bridge approaches. Rather than having the sides of the portals drop straight down, or even drop for a ways and then angle back to the end of the deck, they are angled all the way from the gable end to the deck. While this portal configuration is not unheard of, the length of the bridge (short) and the amount of overhang (quite large) gives it a unique look which many guides refer to as a Conestoga wagon. What makes this especially interesting is that the bridge was built by Nichols Powers, the same builder of the Brown Bridge, which looks completely different.
In 2003, Cooley Bridge underwent a rehabilitation which ended up requiring the replacement of very little of the original timbers. All of the siding was to be replaced (a common occurrence - covered bridge siding is not expected to last) but the original plan called for the use of pine. The Town of Pittsford insisted that the siding be native hemlock, so the order needed to be changed. While waiting for the new siding, the bridge was reopened on November 25, 2003. Once the siding arrived, the bridge was closed during the day and reopened at night until the job was complete near the end of February 2004.
Visiting the bridge:
Elm Street is a fairly busy paved road. Probably a good deal of the traffic is due to tourism as this road also leads to the nearby Gorham Bridge. And while you will most likely encounter traffic utilizing the bridge, the relatively short span means you won't have to be inside it very long if you decide to cross on foot.
There is a good-sized parking area on the northern end of the bridge. It is really more of a pull-off rather than an actual maintained space, but it was in decent condition when I visited and should pose no problem for motorcyclists.