Bath Bridge
| Bath Bridge | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Convicted | West Bath Road | |
| Crossing of | Ammonoosuc River , Ammonoosuc Rail Trail | |
| location | Bath, New Hampshire | |
| Entertained by | Bath | |
| construction | after reinforcement similar to Burr Truss | |
| overall length | 114 meters | |
| broad | 7 meters | |
| Number of openings | 4th | |
| Longest span | 36 meters | |
| load capacity | 6 tons (cars only) | |
| start of building | 1831 | |
| completion | 1832 | |
| opening | 1832 | |
| location | ||
| Coordinates | 44 ° 10 '1 " N , 71 ° 58' 1" W | |
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| Above sea level | 150 m | |
The Bath Bridge (also: Bath Covered Bridge, New Hampshire Covered Bridge No. 28) is a covered bridge in Bath in the US - State of New Hampshire . It crosses the Ammonoosuc River in Bath Village immediately west of the town center and connects it and the thoroughfare on the east and west banks. This bridge is a rare surviving example from the time of manual bridge building before the spread of patented standard designs.
story
The bridge, opened in 1832, is the fifth bridge to cross the Ammonoosuc at this point. The first was built in 1794. Like the subsequent buildings from 1806, 1820 and possibly 1824, the first bridge was destroyed by floods. The fourth bridge may have fallen victim to a fire, but the sources are not clear. In 1830 a bridge supervisor was appointed and a budget was set up to purchase materials. Further funds were approved in March 1831 and 1832, respectively. The bridge was completed in the first half of 1832.
In 1833 a law concerning traffic on bridges came into force in Bath and an overseer was appointed to oversee it. As a result, a sign on the west portal of the bridge continues to announce that you will pay a dollar fine if you lead a team faster than walking across the bridge. The background to this was the possible damage that trotting or galloping horses could cause to the bridge's framework.
The bridge was built with two pillars and three openings. In 1852 the White Mountains Railroad from Woodsville to Littleton was traversed under the west end of the bridge. The line started operating the following year. At a later date, metal plates were installed under the bridge to prevent sparks from settling in the structure of the bridge and setting it on fire. Also later the long west span was divided into two parts by a third pillar between the river and the railway.
In 1918 and 1919 the bridge was strengthened and repaired. Laminated arches were installed and, at the instigation of the railway company, the bridge was raised about two feet to allow the passage of larger wagons. The railway paid for the lifting, but the adjustment of the access roads was at the expense of the municipality, which ultimately had to spend $ 7,076.61 on the work. Repairs were carried out again in 1939–1940 and the then new corrugated iron roof was improved. 1968–1969 the roadway was re-paved and various minor repairs were carried out.
1987–1988 the bridge was repaired again. For example, a cladding inside was removed, behind which gnawed and partially gnawed posts emerged. Possibly this damage was due to the habit of using the bridge to tie up horses when visiting a church or tavern, as a local legend claims. The municipal assembly of 1834 instructed the person in charge not only to monitor the speed limit, but also to ensure that the bridge was free of horses, cattle and other obstacles, among other things. Further repairs were made to the roof, the connection of arch ends to the supporting structure and the area where the metal cladding in the area of the railroad had retained moisture and as a result the girders were red.
meaning
The Bath Village Bridge was built before standardized designs became popular in the United States. The reinforcement arches, which make them resemble a Burr truss , were not installed until the 19th century. Previously, it did not correspond to any standardized bridge construction, but was the result of the manual work of its builders.
Another bridge that still exists, the Sayers Bridge in Thetford Center , Vermont, is similar in structure to the Bridge of Bath. These bridges differ in details, and the Sayers Bridge is not known to be built or built. It is possible that these two bridges are examples of a local building tradition.
The bridge in Bath has been in continuous use since it opened in 1832. Today's traffic is limited to the passenger traffic of residents, local agricultural traffic and tourists. The bridge is within sight of Bath Village's village green and its preserved historic buildings. Bath Bridge was the last covered bridge in the United States to cross a railway line. Traffic on this section of the route was discontinued in 1995.
properties
The bridge was originally three-span with two pillars in the river bed, which, like the abutments, were piled up from hewn granite. Both pillars were rounded against the current. The third pillar was later installed between the river and the railway line. In contrast to the older pillars, it is a parallelogram in plan.
All three pillars are twisted against each other, not parallel, which is reflected in the individually adapted structure of the bridge. The reason for this may be the conditions in the river bed or in the subsoil, which made it impossible to build piers aligned at right angles. Later changes are also the arches, which made the bridge structurally more similar to the Burr Truss , and the metal roof. The bridge differs from the conventional Burr girder in a number of design features, including the positioning of the arches, which do not rest directly on the abutments, and the guidance of the struts.
The total length and width of the bridge is specified differently depending on the source and reference point. The investigation on the occasion of the nomination for registration in the NRHP indicates a length of the roof on the north side of 390 feet 3 inches (118.95 m), the length of the roadway with 374 feet 5 inches (114.12 m) with a total width of 24 Feet (7.36 m) and a lane width of 22 feet 1.5 inches (6.74 m). The difference between the length of the roof and the carriageway is explained by the pronounced roof overhangs of the portals. Another source measures the pavement an inch longer and gives widths of 24 feet 6 inches (7.47 m) and 22 feet 6 inches (6.86 m). The same source gives spans of 117 feet 6 inches (35.81 m), 66 feet 6 inches (20.27 m), 62 feet 6 inches (19.05 m), and 80 feet (24.38 m) for each Fields. A study as part of a documentation project names the eastern field 127 feet 2 ¼ inches (38.77 m), the central span 71 feet 10 inches (21.89 m) and the original long span in the west 175 feet 5 ½ inches (53, 48 m) span.
The pillars, which are twisted in relation to the bridge axis, provide attachment points in the structure that can be shifted by two to three fields between the upstream and downstream sides and require an irregular field in the structure between the central field and the field adjoining it to the west. The spans differ accordingly. In addition, the width of the traffic area is given as 22 feet, of which 18 feet are intended for vehicles and four feet for a raised sidewalk. The source believes that it is no longer possible to determine whether the bridge had this feature from the start.
See also
Individual evidence
- ^ Bath Bridge on GNIS. USGS, accessed February 10, 2021 .
- ^ A b National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form - Bath Covered Bridge. (pdf; 776 KB) 1980, accessed on August 16, 2021 (English).
- ^ A b c d Bath Bridge - National Covered Bridges Recording Project. (PDF; 93 KB) 2002, accessed on August 17, 2021 (English).
- ^ Richard G. Marshall: Bath-Haverhill Bridge, Bath and Haverhill, New Hampshire. In: New Hampshire Covered Bridges: A Link With Our Past. New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Nashua, NH, 1994, p. 51 , accessed August 16, 2021 .
