Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Cornish-Windsor Bridge
The Cornish-Windsor Bridge is one of those places you just have to see. You don't have to be a covered bridge enthusiast, or bridge enthusiast in general, or a structural engineer. None of that matters. The sheer size of this bridge, and the fact that is it made of wood is just plain impressive.
While the exact length is debated, the State of New Hampshire (which owns the vast majority of the bridge) lists it at 449 feet, 5 inches. What is for certain is that this bridge is the longest wooden bridge in the United States and the longest two-span covered bridge in the world.
Current Status: Open
Location: Cornish, NH on Cornish Toll Bridge Road;
Windsor, VT on Bridge Street
Crosses: Connecticut River
GPS: 43.473598N, 72.383765W
Built: 1866 Length: 449 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: NH-10-09 / VT-14-14 NRHP**: Yes
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
The fourth bridge on this site, it was originally built by a private corporation and operated as a toll bridge. The toll house still stands on the Vermont side. Even after the bridge was sold to the states of New Hampshire and Vermont in 1936, tolls were still collected. However gas rationing during World War II meant very few automobiles were using the bridge and it cost more to collect the tolls than the tolls actually brought in. The bridge was freed from tolls in 1943.
As you might imagine with a structure of this magnitude, occasional repairs have been necessary, due to both time and damage by floodwaters and ice. The latest major repair came after the bridge deteriorated to the point of needing to be closed in 1987. This touched off much debate between covered bridge preservationists and state engineers. The engineers essentially claimed that it was luck that the bridge was still standing at all, whereas preservationists claimed that the original techniques used in the day were more than sufficient.
A budget of just over $4.5 million was drafted for the renovation. Famed covered bridge preservationist Milton Graton, he himself a New Hampshire native, said he could do the job for only $2.5 million using traditional techniques and materials. However, officials apparently didn't feel that this would be adequate. The result is the copious use of modern glue-laminated beams to replace key structural components. The renovation took 2.5 years.
Visiting the bridge:
The Cornish-Windsor Bridge is a very busy one. On top of the tourist aspect, it remains a convenient link between the two states... the next crossing being 6 miles south.
A large official parking area has been established on the New Hampshire side. The Vermont side is densely packed with no real good parking options.
The bridge is very wide. So wide in fact that two vehicles can pass by each other inside the bridge. This is not something I was aware of when I visited and was slightly nervous to discover a car entering the bridge at the other end coming towards me while I was still crossing on my motorcycle. As we got closer though, I relaxed as there was more than enough room for both of us.
However, all this width inside the bridge seems to embolden drivers to enter at what I would say is a faster than recommended pace. You can easily cross the bridge on foot due to the extra room inside, but be aware that traffic can be a bit brisk. And I may be a little biased, but of the several cars I saw crossing the bridge, the ones travelling the fastest had license plates that were green-on-white, not white-on-green.