Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Hutchins Bridge
 June 2011 |  June 2011 |
|---|---|
 June 2011 |  June 2011 |
One of five covered bridges built by the Jewett brothers in Montgomery, the Hutchins Bridge is another whose future looked bleak at one time. In the mid 1800s to 1914, a butter tub factory owned by a Joseph Hutchins operated adjacent to the bridge site and a hamlet bearing his last name grew around it. When the factory closed, the bridge had little use anymore and fell into disrepair. The hamlet is now not much more than a smattering of homes clustered in what was once a bustling manufacturing area.
Until the deteriorating Hectorville Bridge was dismantled and placed into storage, the town of Montgomery had the greatest concentration of covered bridges in the state. With only about 900 residents, there isn't much money to go around to repair their bridges... even when grant money is secured.
Current Status: Open
Location: Montgomery, on Hutchins Bridge Road
Crosses: South Branch of the Trout River
GPS: 44.858557N, 72.612458W
Built: 1883 Length: 77 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: VT-06-07 NRHP**: Yes
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
A 1994 study recommended that the bridge be closed altogether. The town wanted to keep it open, but couldn't afford to repair it. So instead it was decided to have two large I-beams installed on top of the deck, extending out onto the road and tied to the bottom chords, as has been done with other bridges. I saw a photo of the bridge in this condition in a previously published guide book. It wasn't pretty.
Finally, in 2008 work started on a complete rehabilitation of the bridge. Despite its poor shape, there were actually quite a few Town lattice truss members that could be reused. In 2009, the bridge reopened to serve the one homestead on the other side of the dead-end road. Despite the low use, the saving of the bridge represents the effort on the part of the State, and its towns, to maintain the history of these structures and the character of Vermont's countryside.
Visiting the bridge:
This is one of those few cases where some caution is seriously advised when visiting. Despite the bridge's rehabilitation, Hutchins Bridge Road was little more than a one lane track when I visited. The road is mostly made up of large loose gravel and stones (not dirt, or even packed gravel). And it is downhill. Don't let the area where my motorcycle is parked fool you. That's as good as it gets for condition. Vehicles will have no problem, but motorcycles are a different story.
The loose rocks called for just crawling down the path with feet out (and occasionally dragging)... ready to steady the bike if it started to go over. If you have a top heavy bike (like a touring model with all kinds of luggage on it), you may want to think twice about going down to the bridge on it. Of course, if you are that guy in the YouTube video scraping the floorboards of your GoldWing on every turn of Deal's Gap, then go for it. (Motorcycle riders will know what I'm talking about).
If you decide to leave your bike on the top of the hill where the road starts, it is not a long walk down to the bridge (only about 1/10 of a mile). Once down at the bridge, you'll probably want to continue through it and park on the other side where there is plenty of room to the left. This part to the left is essentially the remains of a portion of Hutchins Bridge Road that has been abandoned. Located up this path a short ways is the remains of the butter tub enterprise. Exploring the bridge on foot will be no problem as it is virtually unused.