Crosses Connecticut River Total length 449 ft 5 in (137.0 m) Construction started 3 April 1866 Location Cornish | Material wood Address Cornish, NH 03745, USA Opened 1866 | |
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Locale Cornish, New Hampshire to Windsor, Vermont Maintained by New Hampshire Department of Transportation Design Town lattice truss bridge Hours Open today · Open 24 hoursMondayOpen 24 hoursTuesdayOpen 24 hoursWednesdayOpen 24 hoursThursdayOpen 24 hoursFridayOpen 24 hoursSaturdayOpen 24 hoursSundayOpen 24 hours Similar Blow‑Me‑Down Covered Bridge, Saint‑Gaudens National Historic S, Mount Orne Covered, Columbia Bridge, Dingleton Hill Covered | ||
The Cornish–Windsor Covered Bridge is a covered bridge that spans the Connecticut River between Cornish, New Hampshire and Windsor, Vermont. It was the longest covered bridge still standing in the United States until the Smolen–Gulf Bridge opened in Ohio in 2008.
While the Old Blenheim Bridge had and Bridgeport Covered Bridge has longer clear spans, and the Smolen-Gulf Bridge is longer overall, with a longest single span of 204 feet (62 m), the Cornish-Windsor Bridge is still the longest wooden covered bridge and has the longest single covered span to carry automobile traffic (Blenheim was and Bridgeport is pedestrian only).
History
There were three bridges previously built on this site—one each in 1796, 1824 and 1828. The 1824 and 1828 spans were constructed and operated by a group of businessmen which included Allen Wardner.
The current bridge was originally built in 1866, and rebuilt in 1988. The bridge is approximately 449 feet (137 m) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) wide. It has a Town lattice type truss. It was designated a National Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 1970.
The bridge is owned and maintained by the State of New Hampshire, and though often associated with Windsor, is in fact part of the town of Cornish, since the defined boundary between New Hampshire and Vermont is at the western high-water mark of the river. When one drives onto the bridge from the Windsor side of the river they are immediately in New Hampshire.