But a kind and informed reader Teri has corrected this and I quote here what she/he has said.
"The reason for enclosing a bridge with sides and a roof was not to keep snow off the surface. During the winter, people put away their carriages and wagons, and got out their sleighs for their horses to pull. Roads were not ploughed back then, but rather, "rolled" - the snow was packed down to enable horse-and-sleigh to travel easily (a clear, dry bridge would actually *stop* travel). A bridgekeeper would, in fact, shovel snow *onto* a bridge so that people could move unimpeded. Today, it's natural to come to the conclusion that the roof was to keep snow off in winter; since we travel in a very different way today, we tend to look at covered bridges with 21st-century eyes, and assume that what benefits us, would be of the same benefit to people 150-200 years ago.
So, why cover a bridge?
The strength of a covered bridge comes from its trusses. Where today's bridges have their trusses underneath, covered bridges' trusses are above the lane of travel. In order to protect those important supports, it is necessary to keep them dry - hence, the cover. And that is why these bridges have been able to last as long as they have - with some maintenance, of course - and are such a marvel of engineering."
Thanks Teri!
2 comments:
The red bridge is indeed located in Taftsville, VT, but the varnished wooden bridge is about 10 minutes away in the town of Woodstock, VT, not in Taftsville. And, as a point of interest, the red Taftsville Bridge is the oldest one in Windsor County, but the Middle Bridge was constructed in 1969 by Milton Graton and Sons of Ashland, NH. It replaced an old, steel bridge. Big improvement! :-)
The reason for enclosing a bridge with sides and a roof was not to keep snow off the surface. During the winter, people put away their carriages and wagons, and got out their sleighs for their horses to pull. Roads were not ploughed back then, but rather, "rolled" - the snow was packed down to enable horse-and-sleigh to travel easily (a clear, dry bridge would actually *stop* travel). A bridgekeeper would, in fact, shovel snow *onto* a bridge so that people could move unimpeded. Today, it's natural to come to the conclusion that the roof was to keep snow off in winter; since we travel in a very different way today, we tend to look at covered bridges with 21st-century eyes, and assume that what benefits us, would be of the same benefit to people 150-200 years ago.
So, why cover a bridge?
The strength of a covered bridge comes from its trusses. Where today's bridges have their trusses underneath, covered bridges' trusses are above the lane of travel. In order to protect those important supports, it is necessary to keep them dry - hence, the cover. And that is why these bridges have been able to last as long as they have - with some maintenance, of course - and are such a marvel of engineering.
Thank you so much for sharing these images with all of us. They are absolutely beautiful.
Thanks for taking the time to put in this interesting information. Teri. I learned so much from this.
Bharathi
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