Covered Bridge Opens to Vehicle Traffic

A car enters the east end of the Arthur A. Smith covered bridge on Friday, September 25, 2020.

For the first time since 1982, cars cruised through the iconic Arthur A. Smith covered bridge on Wednesday, September 23, 2020.  The last of more than nine covered bridges that dotted the town historically, this is actually an exact replica of the original bridge, with its Burr trusses, on this site.  

First built in Shattuckville in 1869, and known as  the Fox Bridge, it was damaged by flood in 1878, repaired and moved to its present site on the east branch of the North River  in 1896.  Laminated wooden arches were installed to strengthen the bridge in the 1920s.  

It was closed to traffic as unsafe in 1982.  Removed from the river for repair by a team of oxen in 1990, the bridge was later rebuilt  by the state in 2007, but it remained closed to traffic until this week.

See this article in the Shelburne Falls Independent for information about the rebuilding of the bridge.

http://www.sfindependent.net/site/assets/PDF/SFI51.pdf

Repairs near completion for Arthur Smith Bridge.

Historic covered ‘Burr arch’ bridge is the last of its kind in Massachusetts.

By Laura Rodley