hitchcock_cormier

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A New "Romantic Shelter"
Hitchcock-Cormier Covered Bridge

Erected: July 2008

Designer Gerald Cormier

Owner/Builder: Raymond B. Hitchcock

Dimensions Span 16' and sitting on cement footings established two feet below bottom of brook and on bed of gravel. Truss length at the bottom chord is 21'6" Opening is 7' by 7' . This bridge was based on the Ithiel Town concept for the lattice trusses.
Hitchcock-Cormier Bridge. Photo by Ray Hitchcock, 2008
Hitchcock-Cormier Covered Bridge

Location: One mile north of the village of Cambridgeport, Vt. which is between Grafton and Saxtons River. While on State Highway 121 the Cambridgeport road goes north from the eastern side of town directly next to the rock ruins of an old woolen mill. One half mile north brings you to a fork in the road next to a farm house and large barn. Take the right fork (Atcherson Hollow Road) on gravel across a field, and then on tar, uphill 400 yards. There will be a field/lawn to your right and an access point with limited parking at the base of the field/lawn. Hike the trail from the old rock basement and along the field/lawn/ woods line about 400 yards to the bridge. Handicapped individuals can easily drive to the bridge but it may require backing out.

The bridge was built like an erector set and was assembled one component at a time after all pieces were cut and drilled. The spacing of the lattice on the top chord is ¼" wider than the bottom to provide for camber. While the design is fairly true to the town lattice design it is constructed with treated pine and bolts rather than the original materials. The lattice pieces and the chords are constructed with 2 X 6's. Joints are lapped rather than butted as was most common. We used short pieces of chord lengths to simulate the multiple joints of larger scale bridges.

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Joe Nelson, P.O Box 267, Jericho, VT 05465-0267
This file posted 10/03/2008