vcbs header image

Gifford Covered Bridge

Randolph, VT
WGN Number: 45-09-03

Gifford Covered Bridge
Gifford Covered Bridge
Photo by Bill Caswell © 2015

The Gifford Bridge is constructed with a multiple-kingpost, half-height truss, indicating that it, like the nearby Johnson Bridge, was originally an open span. The roadway had been reinforced with steel beams tie-bolted below the deck. According to the Covered Spans of Yesteryear website, this work was done around 1955.

In 2001 the bridge underwent repairs to the bracing and tie-beams. Externally the bridge now had a new roof and siding.

Further rehabilitation was done on the bridge in 2011. The website Bridgehunter.com reports that the steel reinforcing was removed and replaced with glue laminated wooden beams. John Weaver reported in the Spring 2009 edition of the Bridger newsletter that his recommendation for the bridge was to use "glulam" to provide "a co-functioning structural beam load carrying system for a covered bridge superstructure".

Gifford Covered Bridge Vital Statistics

Town: Randolph
Location: Hyde Road
Crossing: Second Branch of the White River
Date: 1904
Builder: Unknown
Truss Type: Multiple kingpost half-height
Truss Length: 54 feet
Other Names: C.K. Smith / Lower
National Register of Historical Places Listing Date: July 30, 1974
Date Rehabilitated: 2011

Credits: All pictures, information and descriptions are taken from Spanning Time Vermont's Covered Bridges by Joseph C. Nelson ©1997 and the World Guide to Covered Bridges - 2009 unless otherwise specified.

HTML5 logo