Skip to main content

Thompson Covered Bridge - West Swanzey, New Hampshire

 


Also known as the West Swanzey Covered Bridge, the Thompson Covered Bridge connects the two halves of West Swanzey, New Hampshire over the Ashuelot River. The covered bridge was originally built in 1832 by Zadoc Taft for the grand sum of $523.27, which might seem like chump change by today's standards, but that was a nice payout in 1832. Utilizing a through truss design with lattice work, the bridge has two spans as it goes 151 feet across the river. The Thompson Covered Bridge is listed in the World Guide of Covered Bridges (WGCB) as number 29-03-04, is also listed as New Hampshire Covered Bridge # 5 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge has its home next to a mill of some sort, which is a monument to New England's industrial history. There is also a covered sidewalk on the north side of the bridge, which allows pedestrian traffic to enjoy the bridge without dodging cars.

By the time the 1970s rolled around, it was a whole new world of change and the covered bridge was showing its age after years of wear and tear. In 1973, when the bridge was posted for a six ton load limit, school buses were allowed to cross the bridge, but only if empty. I have come across similar factoids from other covered bridges I've researched, so maybe that was the solution at the time. When a bus full of students came to the bridge, the students would get off the bus, walk across the bridge, and board the bus again on the other side. In 1976, a new concrete and steel bridge was built nearby to carry heavy vehicles, just south of the covered bridge, at a cost of $376,914.61. The covered bridge was closed to vehicular traffic since the fall of 1990 after a report by state inspectors indicated the bridge was unsafe, and as a result, a committee was quickly formed in 1990 to develop proposals for the rehabilitation of the town's covered bridges. The Thompson Covered Bridge was ultimately reconstructed in 1993, so future generations can enjoy this local treasure.












How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter.com - Thompson Covered Bridge 29-03-04
NHTourGuide.com - Thompson Covered Bridge West Swanzey
New Hampshire Bridges - West Swanzey Bridge
Life, on a Bridged - Thompson Covered Bridge, West Swanzey, NH 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Old River Lock & Control Structure (Lettsworth, LA)

  The Old River Control Structure (ORCS) and its connecting satellite facilities combine to form one of the most impressive flood control complexes in North America. Located along the west bank of the Mississippi River near the confluence with the Red River and Atchafalaya River nearby, this structure system was fundamentally made possible by the Flood Control Act of 1928 that was passed by the United States Congress in the aftermath of the Great Mississippi River Flood of 1927 however a second, less obvious motivation influenced the construction here. The Mississippi River’s channel has gradually elongated and meandered in the area over the centuries, creating new oxbows and sandbars that made navigation of the river challenging and time-consuming through the steamboat era of the 1800s. This treacherous area of the river known as “Turnbull’s Bend” was where the mouth of the Red River was located that the upriver end of the bend and the Atchafalaya River, then effectively an outflow

Interstate 10S and the original Interstate 110 in California

Interstate 10S is a short spur of Interstate 10 along San Bernardino Freeway in downtown Los Angeles.  Interstate 10S begins at the Santa Ana Freeway (US Route 101) and extends east to Interstate 5 where it merges into mainline Interstate 10.  Interstate 10S is one of the oldest freeway segments in Los Angeles having been part of US Routes 60, 70 and 99 when it was part of the corridor of the Ramona Expressway.  The current corridor of Interstate 10S was assigned as Chargeable Corridor H following the passage of the 1956 Federal Highway Aid Act.  Interstate 110 was a short-lived designation which comprised the segment San Bernardino Freeway from US Route 101 to Interstate 5 between 1964-1968.  The original Interstate 110 was dropped as a Chargeable Corridor during 1965 and consolidated as Interstate 10S during 1968.   The original Interstate 110 can be seen as the blog cover photo as it was featured on the 1964 Division of Highways Map.  Below the entire 0.65-mile length of Interstate

Vicksburg Bridge (Vicksburg, MS)

  Located a few hundred feet downriver from the Old Vicksburg Bridge, the Vicksburg Bridge, or the “New” Bridge, serves as the city’s vehicular crossing of the Mississippi River on the main highway connecting Vicksburg with northeastern Louisiana to the west and the state capital of Jackson to the east. The completion of the original Vicksburg Bridge in 1930 was seen as a huge success and the bridge proved to be a profitable entity for both road and railroad interests along the path of the Dixie Overland Highway and the subsequent US Highway 80 corridor. In the years after the creation of the National Interstate Highway System, planning commenced on a new bridge at the site that would relieve the congestion on the existing bridge while providing for a more modern crossing of the river that would be safe for all vehicles. The construction of the new bridge at Vicksburg was completed in 1973 and its design intentionally mimics that of its predecessor nearby. This was due in large part