In October 2013, an iron bridge that served vehicular traffic in Bennington from the mid-1860s until the late 1950s, was restored for use by walkers on the trail from the Hiland Hall Gardens to The Mile-Around Woods.
The bridge’s design, patented in 1857 by Thomas Moseley, relies on a bowstring, iron-truss arch. The upper “tubular”” arch — a hollow triangle in cross-section, made from riveted, iron boiler plates — is offset by a lower “counter arch.” The lower arch prevents deflection of the main arch under a heavy load.
Above, the truss is lowered into place on the trail below The Mile-Around Woods. Below, a view of the Moseley bridge just south of the Papermill Covered Bridge, in the 1950s, shortly before it was removed after nearly a century of service.
Below, the truss in pieces after more than 50 years in storage at the Bennington Landfill. awaiting the start of restoration work in the yard at L & G Fabricators, Inc. in Bennnington.
Below, the bridge in its new home on the trail below The Mile-Around Woods.
