Downers Covered Bridge (Upper Falls Covered Bridge)

Downers Covered Bridge (Upper Falls Covered Bridge) - Vermont

Also known as the Upper Falls Covered Bridge, the Downers Covered Bridge spans 129 feet across the Black River in Weathersfield, Vermont. The bridge was named for Abraham Downer, who was an early settler of Weathersfield. Downer and his descendants gave the name to the area where VT 106 and VT 131 now meet, known as Downer's Four Corners or Downers. Being in the general area, the bridge had become known as the Downers Covered Bridge.

The Downers Covered Bridge was built in 1840 by James Tasker, who was also the builder of the Salmond and Titcomb (Stoughton) Covered Bridges located nearby. Tasker designed the Downers Covered Bridge with a covered Town Lattice through truss design, plus the portals were intricately constructed to simulate a Greek Revival architecture, which was popular at the time (but not necessarily with covered bridges).

The covered bridge was extensively restored in 1975 and 1976 by famed covered bridge builders Milton Graton and Associates of Ashland, New Hampshire. Graton's team rebuilt the trusses, raised the bridge by 2.5 feet so that water could not flow in and damage the timbers, and reframed the floor with heavier timbers so the bridge would be more durable for modern traffic. In raising the bridge, that may be why you see one stone abutment and one concrete abutment for the bridge. Then in 2007, additional renovations by Wright Construction of Mount Holly, Vermont took place for items that were not addressed during the earlier restoration. This restoration included replacing parts of the bottom lower chord and adding a fifth chord to help strengthen the bridge span.

How to Get There:

Sources and Links:
Vermont Covered Bridge Society - Upper Falls Covered Bridge
Bridgehunter.com - Downers Covered Bridge 45-14-08
Covered Bridges on Two Wheels - Upper Falls Bridge

Comments

Paper Highways: The Unbuilt New Orleans Bypass (Proposed I-410)

There are many examples around the United States of proposed freeway corridors in urban areas that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. They all fall somewhere in between the little-known and the infamous and from the mundane to the spectacular. One of the more obscure and interesting examples of such a project is the short-lived idea to construct a southern beltway for the New Orleans metropolitan area in the 1960s and 70s. Greater New Orleans and its surrounding area grew rapidly in the years after World War II, as suburban sprawl encroached on the historically rural downriver parishes around the city. In response to the development of the region’s Westbank and the emergence of communities in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes as viable suburban communities during this period, regional planners began to consider concepts for new infrastructure projects to serve this growing population. The idea for a circular freeway around the southern perimeter of t

Hernando de Soto Bridge (Memphis, TN)

The newest of the bridges that span the lower Mississippi River at Memphis, the Hernando de Soto Bridge was completed in 1973 and carries Interstate 40 between downtown Memphis and West Memphis, AR. The bridge’s signature M-shaped superstructure makes it an instantly recognizable landmark in the city and one of the most visually unique bridges on the Mississippi River. As early as 1953, Memphis city planners recommended the construction of a second highway bridge across the Mississippi River to connect the city with West Memphis, AR. The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge had been completed only four years earlier a couple miles downriver from downtown, however it was expected that long-term growth in the metro area would warrant the construction of an additional bridge, the fourth crossing of the Mississippi River to be built at Memphis, in the not-too-distant future. Unlike the previous three Mississippi River bridges to be built the city, the location chosen for this bridge was about two

Huey P. Long Bridge (New Orleans, LA)

Located on the lower Mississippi River a few miles west of New Orleans, the Huey P. Long Bridge is an enormous steel truss bridge that carries both road and rail traffic on an old-time structure that is a fascinating example of a bridge that has evolved in recent years to meet the traffic and safety demands of modern times. While officially located in suburban Jefferson Parish near the unincorporated community of Bridge City, this bridge’s location is most often associated with New Orleans, given that it’s the largest and most recognizable incorporated population center in the nearby vicinity. For this reason, this blog article considers the bridge’s location to be in New Orleans, even though this isn’t 100% geographically correct. Completed in 1935 as the first bridge across the Mississippi River in Louisiana and the first to be built in the New Orleans area, this bridge is one of two bridges on the Mississippi named for Huey P. Long, a Louisiana politician who served as the 40th Gove

Gribblenation

Search This Blog