Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Robbins Nest Bridge
This Queenpost truss bridge was built by a private homeowner in 1962 (with siding finished up in 1964) as a crossing over the Jail Branch to a residence up the hill. The owner of the house, and bridge builder, was Robert Robbins and that is how the bridge got its name.
The Robbins no longer live there, but the bridge and name, endures.
It was built as an homage to the Old Covered Bridge (yes, that was it's name) that was located only 100 or so feet downstream and destroyed in the Flood of 1927.
Current Status: Private
Location: Barre Town, off Route 302
Crosses: Jail Branch of the Winooski River
GPS: 44.178852N, 72.470978W
Built: 1962 Length: 56.5 feet
Truss Design: Queenpost
WGN*: VT-12-18 NRHP**: not eligible
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
Being a fairly new bridge, one would think that repairs would not be necessary, but in 1990 the then-owners of the property installed steel beams under the bridge because it was becoming unstable.
Visiting the bridge:
As this bridge is private, and part of a driveway, there is no official parking established. Some guides may reference that there is parking on the other side of the bridge that is supposedly available, but they may pre-date the sale of the property in 2013 to new owners. I would not count on them being receptive to people crossing the bridge, whether in a vehicle or on foot. If anyone knows any different, please feel free to comment below.
Be that as it may, if you have a motorcycle, then there is room for you to park it at the bridge without blocking it. If you are in a car, you could possibly park on the wide shoulder on the opposite side of the road, but exercise extreme caution doing this as Route 302 can be very busy. The speed limit is high in that area as well, increasing the danger of crossing the road.