Skip to main content

Poland Covered Bridge (Cambridge Junction Covered Bridge) - Cambridge Junction, Vermont

Image
By

 


Also known as the Cambridge Junction Covered Bridge, the Poland Covered Bridge spans over the Lamoille River in Cambridge Junction, Vermont, just east of Jeffersonville. One of 14 historic covered bridges that remain within Lamoille County, the 153 foot long Kingpost with Burr arch truss designed covered bridge was built in 1887 by George Washington Holmes in order to improve access to a nearby railroad junction. The bridge is said to have one of the longest clear spans of its type within the United States. The bridge bears the name of Luke P. Poland, a prominent citizen and judge from Waterville, Vermont during the second half of the nineteenth century, who led a lawsuit against the Town of Cambridge that resulted in the construction of the covered bridge.

The Poland Covered Bridge was restored starting in 2001, undergoing a two stage process to restore the it to working order, using funds that were secured from the National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Act, which had been authored by Senator James Jeffords of Vermont. Stage One of restoration involved stabilizing and raising the bridge three feet over the Lamoille River. Then, the purpose of Stage Two was to restore the bridge in order to carry light traffic. The bridge rehabilitation began in 2003 and was completed in 2004 by Alpine Construction of Schuylerville, New York.

The bridge had traditionally been open to pedestrians and snowmobiles during winter, and to motor vehicles after the last snow had fallen for the year, carrying traffic one vehicle at a time. Due to the proximity of the covered bridge to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, the bridge does get some traffic and visitors as a result of being next to the rail trail. I went to check out the bridge on a winter's day and had a nice, quiet experience during my visit.


Looking at the bridge portal. Extra barriers are put in place to prevent cars and trucks from using the bridge in winter.

A frozen Lamoille River.

Lamoille River.

The bridge has a clearance of 11 feet, 6 inches.

Side profile of the covered bridge.

Historical marker showing the bridge's history.



How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter.com - Poland Bridge 45-08-02
Lamoille Chamber - Lamoille's Covered Bridges
Vermont Covered Bridge Society - Cambridge Junction Covered Bridge
News & Citizen (Stowe, Vermont) - Clashes Over Covered Bridge
Vermont Covered Bridge Society - Poland Covered Bridge Stabilization: 2001
Labels:
Location: Cambridge Junction Bridge, Cambridge Junction Rd, Cambridge, VT 05464, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I-40 rockslide uncovers old debates on highway

By
The Asheville Citizen-Times continues to do a great job covering all the angles of the Interstate 40 Haywood County rock slide. An article in Sunday's edition provides a strong historical perspective on how the Pigeon River routing of Interstate 40 came about. And perhaps most strikingly, in an article that ran just prior to the highway's opening in the fall of 1968, how engineers from both Tennessee and North Carolina warned "...that slides would probably be a major problem along the route for many years." On February 12, 1969, not long after the Interstate opened, the first rock slide that would close I-40 occurred. Like many other Interstates within North Carolina, Interstate 40 through the mountains has a history prior to formation of the Interstate Highway System and was also a heated political battle between local communities. The discussion for a road that would eventually become Interstate 40 dates back to the 1940's as the idea for interregional high
2 comments
Read more

Mines Road

By
Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area.  Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County.  The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte.  The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.  Part 1; the history of Mines Road Modern Mines Road partially overlays the historic corridor used by La Vereda del Monte (Mountain Trail).  La Vereda del Monte was part of a remote overland route through the Diablo Range primarily used to drive cattle from Alta California to Sonora.  The trail was most heavily used during the latter days of Alta California during the 1840s. La Vereda del Monte originated at Point of Timber between modern day Byron and Bre
Post a Comment
Read more

Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station

By
When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River.  Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207.   Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road.   The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.   Part 1; the history of California State Route 41 past Bates Station Bates Station was featured as one of the many 1875-1899 Madera County era towns in the May 21, 1968, Madera Tribune .  Post Office Service at Bates Station is noted to have been established on November 23, 1883 and ran continuously until October 31, 1903.  The postal name was sourced from Bates Station owner/operator George Ba
Post a Comment
Read more