Sanderson Covered Bridge - Brandon, Vermont

The Sanderson Covered Bridge is located on Pearl Street in Brandon, Vermont and is the second covered bridge to be located at this location. The bridge was named for the Sanderson family, who has been in ownership of a nearby family farm since 1825. The current covered bridge was built in a Town lattice truss design by builders Blow and Cote of Morrisville, Vermont in 2003 at a cost of $830,000. The modern day bridge spans 121 feet over the Otter Creek and is the only covered bridge that remains within the Town of Brandon.

The original covered bridge was built in 1838. While it has been rumored by some historians that famed covered bridge builder Nicholas Powers built the first Sanderson Covered Bridge, the true builder of the bridge is unknown. In 1989, the bridge had been closed to traffic and a temporary steel bridge was placed alongside the covered bridge. Due to the high cost of an archeological survey that was required before a permanent bridge could be constructed, it was decided to dismantle the original covered bridge and rebuild the bridge using new materials. However, the new bridge does contain a few truss lattice members, chord members and roof beams that were salvaged from the original bridge.

Today, the Sanderson Covered Bridge takes up a quiet slice of countryside just southwest of the village center of Brandon. Fans of the opera will find the Barn Opera located near the covered bridge. Others will find the covered bridge is part of a nice drive through rural portions of Rutland County, Vermont.

How to Get There:

Sources and Links:
Vermont Covered Bridge Society - Sanderson Covered Bridge (Replacement)
Brandon Area Chamber of Commerce - Covered Bridge Tour Southern Route
Bridgehunter.com - Sanderson Covered Bridge 45-11-02 #2

The Travels of Tug 44 - Sanderson Covered Bridge
Vermont Covered Bridge Society - Sanderson Covered Bridge Repairs - 2002/2003

Comments

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

I-73/I-74 and NC Future Interstates Year in Review 2024

Welcome to another annual review of progress in constructing North Carolina's New and Future Interstate routes. While 2024 was not too exciting, with no new segments of major routes opening, there was 1 new interstate signing, another proposed new interstate route, and the near opening of a new segment for 2 routes. As tradition, I will start off with a review of what happened with I-73 and I-74 and then move on to the major news of the year about the other new and future routes. Work continued on the I-73/I-74 Rockingham Bypass through the year. The last few months have been hoping for news of its opening before 2025, without luck. Signs of its near completion included the placement of new signs, many with interstate shields uncovered, along the Bypass and intersecting roadways. For example, these went up along US 74 East: Overhead signage at Business 74 exit which contains the future ramp to I-73 North/I-74 West. Signage was also updated heading west on US 74 approaching the unop...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog