Two beautiful covered bridges near Albany, USA

  Taftsville has two covered bridges...one red and the other unpainted. Vehicles pass through this bridge. As only one vehicle from one direction can come through, the drivers slow down and make sure there is no one coming from the other side! "The main reason for bridges to be covered is to avoid  the need to clear the snow from the bridges in winter-time...." is what I thought.
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!

 I cant imagine how beautiful this bridge would look in winter snow! This pic reminds me a bit of a famous photo of a Japanese red bridge.