Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Scribner Bridge
 September 2009 |  September 2009 |
|---|---|
 September 2009 |  September 2009 |
 June 2017 |
Current Status: Open
Location: Johnson, on Rocky Road
Crosses: Gihon River
GPS: 44.638136N, 72.648522W
Built: 1919 Length: 47.5 feet
Truss Design: Queenpost
WGN*: VT-08-09 NRHP**: Yes
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
The Scribner Bridge is located on a back road in Johnson and was named for a pair of Scribner families that lived nearby. Other names for the bridge are East Johnson, for its locality, and DeGoosh and Mudget, each for later residents of the Scribner farms.
Although exact records can not be found, this bridge was built sometime before 1919 as an uncovered pony truss bridge. The Vermont Agency of Transportation lists 1919 as the year that a covering was first built over it. Its location on back roads between farms suggests that it was built more for practicality than looks, as it is not one of the more handsome bridges in the state!
The queenpost truss is constructed of massive timbers, somewhat similar to the Power House Bridge nearby. But unlike that bridge, the height of the trusses are very low, as would be the case with a pony truss bridge.
In 1960 the bridge was reinforced with steel beams below the deck. At that time the floor was separated from the trusses and is solely supported by the beams. The trusses also have a little support to them from the steel framework underneath. These modifications don't surprise me because despite the size of the timbers, that half-height truss doesn't seem like it would be strong enough to support the live load of traffic as well as the weight of the covering. I think we might be able to chalk this one up to a bridge being under-engineered from day-one and kept open and relevant as best as possible.
Visiting the bridge:
All roads leading to the Scribner bridge are dirt, but it is less than half a mile from the pavement of Route 100C. Also, at the time I visited, the roadway was pretty well hard-packed.
There is no official parking at the bridge, but the northern end of it is at a 3-way intersection that is quite wide, so there is room to park and not be in the way.
Most likely, you'll be approaching the bridge from Route 100C. There is still a working dairy farm here, so you may be greeted by the quintessentially Vermont view of cows out in the rolling hills.