About Stark Covered Bridge
Bridges, Architecture, Interesting Places, Other Bridges
The Stark Covered Bridge is a historic wooden covered bridge over the Upper Ammonoosuc River in Stark, New Hampshire. It carries a connecting roadway which joins the Northside Road to New Hampshire Route 110. The bridge was built in either 1857 or 1862 (sources differing), replacing a floating bridge that had been located a short way upstream. It is a two-span Paddleford truss bridge, which is a regional variant of the Long truss. It is 151 feet (46 m) long with a span of 138 feet (42 m), and is 29 feet (8.8 m) wide, carrying an 18-foot (5.5 m) wide roadway and two 6.5-foot (2.0 m) sidewalks. The shore ends of the bridge rest on abutments of granite stone, while the center of the bridge is supported by a reinforced concrete pier, which is flared on the upstream side to deflect debris. The bridge is reinforced with steel beams, giving it a carrying capacity of 15 tons.