Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Hall Bridge
 September 2015 |  September 2015 |
|---|---|
 September 2015 |  September 2015 |
Current Status: Open
Location: Rockingham, on Hall Bridge Road
Crosses: Saxton's River
GPS: 43.137370N, 72.487297W
Built: 1982 Length: 120.5 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: VT-13-07#2 NRHP**: not eligible
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
Before the bridge that currently stands on this site, existed another covered bridge that was most likely built not long after a heavy spring thaw in 1869 wiped out many bridges in this area.
Also known as the Osgood bridge, it was likely named for the residents who lived in the house adjacent to it, but I can't find any confirmation of that.
The bridge that was on this site from circa 1870 was destroyed in 1980.
The demise of the Hall Bridge in 1980 was due to a truck being too heavy for the bridge. Officials at the time surmised that the bridge may have survived if the driver had continued to pass through. However, reportedly he heard the ominous noises that the over-stressed bridge was emanating, panicked, and abandoned the truck on the bridge. The weight finally became too much. Unlike other mishaps where overweight vehicles have crashed through the floor, leaving the bridge otherwise intact, this incident caused the trusses themselves to break... an un-recoverable failure leading to a total loss of the bridge.
The current bridge was built in 1982. Its dimensions, being narrower and taller than typical bridges, lend it the appearance of railroad covered bridges.
More recently, the bridge was damaged in the flooding that occurred from Tropical Storm Irene in August of 2011. The bridge narrowly escaped the same fate as the nearby Bartonsville Bridge as the southern abutment was severely damaged, but luckily not enough to fail. Some lattice members needed replacement as they were broken by debris being carried by the engorged river.
Visiting the bridge:
The Hall Covered Bridge is easily located just off Route 121.
Parking at the bridge is not very good however. There is no established area in which to park. The intersection of Hall Bridge Road and Route 121 is triangular in nature, but not very large. You may be able to utilize it (if no one else already is), but you will have to be very careful about traffic.
The other side of the bridge affords no parking whatsoever as it's private property. I was only able to park on that side by the virtue of my motorcycle taking up much less room on the side of the road.
Hall Bridge Road is not busy, so there will not be much traffic crossing the bridge, but with that said, be aware that this is one of the narrowest vehicular covered bridges in the state, and care will need to be taken when crossing on foot.