Covered Bridges on Two Wheels
A photographic journey to Vermont's Covered Bridges
Twin Bridge
Current Status: Closed
Location: Rutland, off East Pittsford Road
Crosses: On dry land
GPS: 43.648604N, 72.972719W
Built: 1850 Length: 60 feet
Truss Design: Town lattice
WGN*: VT-11-10 NRHP**: not eligible
* WGN: World Guide to Covered Bridges Number
**NRHP: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
Other than those covered bridges that have been destroyed by arson or Mother Nature, this has to be one of the sadder stories to be told.
Looking very little like a covered bridge these days, the Twin Bridge sits on dry land, boarded up on the ends and relegated to act as a storage shed for the town highway department.
It was built in 1850 over the East Creek, near where it now stands. Not long after it was built, a flood cut a new channel of the creek only yards away from the bridge. A second bridge was built to cross this new channel and the Twin Bridges got their name. In 1947 incessant rain caused a dam in East Pittsford to burst, sending a wall of water down to toward the two bridges. One was destroyed. The survivor was hauled up onto dry land and replaced with a more modern bridge.
In addition to suffering the humiliation of becoming a storage shed, the Twin Bridge has also been neglected. The blocks it was laid on have shifted due to rains undermining the ground underneath. The third photo in the slideshow was an attempt to show that the bridge is somewhat twisted now, but it's much more obvious if you look at it in person.
A plan had been announced to renovate the bridge and move it to a recreation park nearby so that it could be used as a pedestrian bridge. That was supposed to have occurred in 2003, but years later, it still sits where it has been since 1947.
Visiting the bridge:
While no one could fault you if you didn't want to visit this particular bridge, at least it is not hard to find, and not very far from Route 7. There is a large clearing where it now rests, providing plenty of parking. Just mind the fact that there is a driveway to a private residence that stems from this clearing, so please don't block it.
The ends of the bridge have been fitted with large plywood doors that are locked, but there are small holes you can peek through to see the inside. This at least lets you confirm that, yes indeed, there are Town lattice trusses in there.