Historic Iron Bridge to Be Repaired
Dummerston,Vt., March 25,2009 - It's a case of needing to fix one bridge in order to repair another.
There are only two crossings of the West River in town—the old green iron bridge, which has been closed to traffic for ten years, and the West Dummerston Covered Bridge [WGN 45-13-02].
Funding for repairs to the Iron Bridge is expected in 2010. Meanwhile, the wooden roadway in the covered bridge requires repairs due to rutting.
The Iron Bridge, built in the 1850s [see note] served Vt. Route 30 until it was closed. The 280-foot, two-span covered wooden bridge was built in 1872 using Ithiel Town's truss. Also serving Route 30, it has been handling all of the cross-river traffic.
For the story go to:
[Note - Dummerston's bridge #37, crossing West River to connect Rt 30 to Rice Farm Road, was built in 1892. Ref. Crossings A History of Vermont Bridges by Robert McCullough, VAOT, 2005]
