Truck Stopped By New Crash Barriers At Miller’s Run Bridge
Staff Reports Jun 22, 2025
LYNDON — Newly installed crash barriers at the Miller’s Run Covered Bridge passed their first real-world tests.
A video posted online June 19 shows a tractor-trailer bearing the Eaton’s Trucking Service logo attempting to enter the historic bridge before being stopped when its exhaust stacks struck the overhead barrier at the southern entrance. The truck backed away with minimal damage, and the bridge was unscathed.
Another video, dated June 18, appears to show one of the steel cross bars bent inwards, ostensibly from a separate incident.
The barriers were installed in March to prevent overheight vehicles from damaging the 146-year-old structure, which has been struck multiple times in recent years despite an 11-foot-9 height restriction. Each incident has typically cost the town around $1,100 in repairs and led to temporary bridge closures.
Designed by Lyndon Institute welding students and manufactured locally, the protective beams are anchored steel crossbars intended to halt trucks before they reach the bridge. Town Administrator Justin Smith previously called the $60,000 project — funded through a mix of town and federal ARPA funds — a cost-effective alternative to replacing the historic bridge, which could cost millions.
“Hopefully, this works and solves the issue once and for all,” Smith said at the March ribbon-cutting.
The recent encounter appears to affirm that hope.
Editors note: Information reprinted with permission from the Caledonian Record Publishing Company, Inc.
