Bradley Covered Bridge


The Bradley Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, carrying Center Street over Miller Run, a tributary of the Passumpsic River, in Lyndon, Vermont. Built in 1878, it was the last of Vermont's many 19th-century covered bridges to carry a numbered state highway. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

Description and history

The Bradley Covered Bridge is located north of central Lyndon, crossing Miller Run on Central Street just south of its junction with Gilman Road. The latter carries Vermont Route 122 on the north side of Miller Run, while Central Street runs south to the downtown area. The bridge is a single-span queenpost truss design, long and wide, with a roadway width of. It is covered by a metal roof, and rests on abutments either faced or built out of concrete. Its sides are sheathed for half their height by vertical board siding. A sidewalk has been cantilevered out to the bridge's east side; it is sheltered by a shed roof offset main roof. The bridge's decking consists of wood planking.
The bridge was built in 1878 by E.H. Stone. It is similar in construction to five other area bridges, whose shared characteristics include extended eaves, half-wall siding, and portals with diagonal corners. In 1973, the bridge was crossed by an overheight truck, doing substantial damage to its south portal. The bridge has since then undergone restoration and was renovated in 1995. At the time of its listing on the National Register, Vermont 122 was routed down Center Street, making the bridge the only 19th-century bridge carrying a state numbered highway in the state.