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The Thompson Bridge
Posted by Raven on April 18th, 2009
The Thompson Covered Bridge, in West Swanzey NH.
Location:
East of N.H. Route 10 on Main Street over the Ashuelot River in West Swanzey. The bridge connects two built-up areas of the town.
Style of Bridge:
town lattice truss
Year of Construction:
1832
Original Cost:
$523.27
Structural Characteristics:
The bridge is 136′10″ long with clear spans of 64′0″ and 63′6″. It has an overall width of 25′6″ with a roadway width of 16′7″ and a maximum vertical clearance of 11′11″. There is a sidewalk on the south side of the bridge. The bridge was posted for six tons until the fall of 1990 at which time it was closed to all traffic.
April 18th, 2009 at 10:33 am
We actually have a few covered bridges here in central MD, and in southern PA. I don’t think any are as long as the Thompson bridge.
April 18th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
There are MANY of these in NH. I took some pictures recently on one of my treks and I have a friend who has collected pictures…and I decided to share them here. Another new category: NH Covered Bridges. LOL
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:16 am
In the picture it looks like the floor of the bridge is paved with asphalt. My first thought would be that this would add a lot of weight to the structure beyond what it was designed to hold; or it could be that only the approach is paved and the deck itself is still wooden, which is why the cover in the first place. In any case, this is quite a beautiful bridge.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Average_guy this bridge is asphalt covered, which does increase it’s weight. They paved them to stand up to weather…but didn’t consider the weight factor overall and lifespan of these bridges. Some are still simply wood, and probably not very safe either.
April 24th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
That is interesting. I always heard that the reason the roof was on a covered bridge was to protect the wooden deck from rotting. I’m sure that a wooden deck was adequate for horse drawn vehicles, especially in the days before road salt. We have several of these bridges in our area (central ohio) and all of them are not in service at present although I can remember at least one that was still in service 6-7 years ago and as I think about it, the deck of that was paved as well, although the length of the deck was much, much shorter than this bridge. Many of the covered bridges in our area have been relocated to public property such as fairgrounds or school property, and others have been bypassed with modern bridges and still are in their original place but the approaches have been closed. Thanks for sharing your great pics!