Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Quinlan's Bridge
Current Status: Open
Location: Charlotte, on Monkton Road
Crosses: Lewis Creek
GPS: 44.276305N, 73.183836W
Built: 1849 Length: 88 feet
Truss Design: Burr arch
WGN*: VT-04-03 NRHP**: Yes
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
Quinlan's Bridge is another one of those bridges that is fairly easy to get to, but is off the beaten path. Named for surrounding landowners, it has also been called the Sherman Bridge (for the owner of sawmill that used to exist here) or the Lower Bridge due to its downstream location from the nearby Sequin Bridge.
While the builder remains unknown, he is most likely the same person who built the Sequin bridge (also built the same year). Joe Nelson, senior member of the Vermont Covered Bridge Society, and author, notes that special and intricate construction techniques are shared by the two bridges. These techniques have also led engineers to claim that these two bridges are the best built wooden bridges in the state.
The Burr arch trusses seem to be in good shape to the casual observer, but steel beams were added underneath to help handle the live load. According to a 2010 Vermont Agency of Transportation Report on the bridge, they were added in 1985. Despite looking nice, major truss members had suffered rot damage and in 2013 the bridge underwent a major restoration. Two steel beams previously installed have been replaced by four beams, due to town requirements that the bridge be able to handle school buses and snow plows. Half of the floor beams (every other one) have been notched on the underside such that they no longer rest on the bottom chords of the truss, and are instead supported only by the steel beams. The rest of the floor beams still rest on the chords, but are also resting on the steel beams. It was told to me by one of the workers from the contractor performing the work (Wright Construction) that in this configuration, the trusses will be supporting about 15% of the live load (the weight of the vehicles) and the steel beams will take the rest of the load. The trusses still support the weight of the bridge itself (the covering).
Visiting the bridge:
The bridge is located at the intersection of Monkton Road and Spear Street, which as locals know, continues north into Shelburne and South Burlington, past some of the most expensive real estate in the area.
The western approach is paved, but the eastern side is a dirt road. There is no official parking at the bridge, but the intersection on the western side is triangular and large enough for a car to park out of the way. On the eastern side there is a large triangular intersection (Monkton Road and Lewis Creek Road) a short way from the bridge that would be ok to park at. If you haven't been to the Sequin Bridge yet, and plan to, you will be going through this intersection anyway.
The road wasn't busy when I visited, but that being said, there is nowhere to go inside the bridge if a car happens to come across while you are in there.