A historic covered bridge in Waitsfield was temporarily closed after a driver got a rental truck stuck on Tuesday afternoon.
“The truck was trying to make a delivery and the driver thought he was going to fit through the covered bridge,” said Jeff Campbell, Waitsfield’s constable. The bridge, also known as the Great Eddy Covered Bridge, is a wooden bridge that crosses the Mad River at Bridge Street and was built in 1833, one of Vermont’s oldest covered bridges.
The truck’s height was 2 feet taller than the covered bridge’s clearance, causing damage to the bridge’s roof and its support. The covered bridge also had a weight limit of 3 tons, and the truck exceeded the limit, according to Campbell.
The crash impacted the stability of the bridge, resulting in its closure, according to a press release from Vermont State Police.
The bridge reopened at 2:45 p.m. The town is able to offer temporary support to the bridge until they get more permanent repairs done, Campbell said.
Read the story on VTDigger here: Waitsfield covered bridge reopens after truck crashes into it.