Worrall Covered Bridge
Rockingham, VT
WGN Number: 45-13-10
Photo by Ray Hitchcock © 2010
"The Worrall Bridge crosses the Williams River on Williams Road. After crossing the bridge, the road continues on to Brockway's Mills Gorge. There, the Williams River flows between sheer hundred-foot cliffs after dropping down a series of cascades. Sanford Granger completed the eighty-three-foot bridge in 1868, just before the Flood of 1869. The gorge must have been an awesome sight with the flood waters passing though it. The new bridge was very nearly lost."
"Over the years, the Worrall Bridge has been modified, perhaps because it was built without the usual strengthening secondary chords. The lattice has been reinforced by six pairs of seven by six-inch vertical posts and further steadied by iron rods and steel cables. As with many other wooden bridges, distribution beams have been tie-bolted under the deck system, and the stone abutments have been encased in concrete. There is a twenty-foot timber ramp on steel beams at the northeast end, that serves to drain excess road water away from the bridge deck."
From Spanning Time: Vermont's Covered Bridges by Joseph C. Nelson
An engineering study done in 2007 identified a number of structural elements in need of repair. It was felt that a large amount of the original fabric would be able to be reused.
Renovation work began in the fall of 2009 and was completed in the summer of 2010 by Daniel's Construction of Ascutney, Vermont. Click on this link to follow the renovation progress: Worrall Bridge Renovation.
Unfortunately the future would hold more damage for the Worrall Bridge. The bridge was further damaged during Tropical Storm Irene when it was struck with the roof of the swept away Bartonsville bridge. After further repairs, the bridge was reopened.
Click here for a short history of the Worrall Covered Bridge: A Short History of the Worrall Covered Bridge.
Worrall Covered Bridge Vital Statistics
| Town: | Rockingham |
| Location: | Williams Road |
| Crossing: | Williams River |
| Date: | 1868 |
| Builder: | Sanford Granger |
| Truss Type: | Town lattice |
| Truss Length: | 83 feet |
| National Register of Historical Places Listing Date: | July 16, 1973 |
| Date Repaired: | 2009/2010 |
| Repair Contractor: | Daniel's Construction Ascutney, VT. |
Credits: All pictures, information and descriptions are taken from Spanning Time Vermont's Covered Bridges by Joseph C. Nelson ©1997 and the World Guide to Covered Bridges - 2009 unless otherwise specified.
