Carries Automobile Maintained by Town of Middlebury Design Covered, Town lattice Total length 20 m Width 3.63 m | Locale Middlebury, Vermont ID number VT-01-03 Opened 1850 Area 4,000 m² Location Middlebury | |
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Crosses Muddy Branch of New Haven River Bridge type Covered bridge, Lattice truss bridge Similar Pulp Mill Covered Bridge, Covered bridge, Henry Sheldon Museum, Vermont Folklife Center, Holmes Creek Covered | ||
Halpin covered bridge
The Halpin Covered Bridge, also called the High Covered Bridge, is a wooden covered bridge carrying Halpin Bridge Road across the Muddy Branch of the New Haven River in Middlebury, Vermont. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
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Description and history
The Halpin Covered Bridge is located in a rural area of northern Middlebury, near or on the border with neighboring New Haven on Halpin Bridge Road, a dead-end road off Halpin Road. The bridge spans a gorge carrying the Muddy Branch of the New Haven River, and now provides access only to the Halpin family farm. It is a single-span Town lattice truss, 66 feet (20 m) long, resting on concrete abutments. Its total width is 16 feet (4.9 m), with a roadway width of 12 feet 5 inches (3.78 m) (one lane). The bridge stands 41 feet (12.5 m) above the water, making it the highest covered bridge in the state.
The bridge was originally built to serve a marble quarry operation on the east side of the river, and had dry laid stone abutments. It is one of only two covered bridges in Middlebury. It had minor repairs made in the 1960s. In 1994 the bridge had extensive work done by Jan Lewandoski, in which the bridge was completely removed from its crumbling marble abutments, and new concrete abutments were created for it.