| Wright's Bridge | |
| Location: | Sugar River Trail over the Sugar River, Newport, New Hampshire |
| Coordinates: | 43.3589°N -72.2592°W |
| Architect: | Boston & Maine Railroad |
| Architecture: | Town-Lattice Truss |
| Added: | June 10, 1975 |
| Area: | 1acres |
| Refnum: | 75000135 |
Wright's Bridge is a historic covered bridge in Newport, New Hampshire. Originally built in 1906 to carry the Boston and Maine Railroad across the Sugar River, it now carries the multi-use Sugar River Trail.[1] The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
Wright's Bridge is located in a rural setting in western Newport, spanning the Sugar River about 1200feet west of the trail's intersection with Chandler Mill Road. The bridge is a single-span Town double-lattice truss structure which has been reinforced by laminated arches. The bridge spans 122feet, with 6feet of overhang at each end, and rests on granite abutments. Its exterior is finished with vertical board siding extending to about 2feet below the eaves. The portals have vertical boards along the sides, and horizontal boards above the opening. Elements of the trusses and arches are joined by a combination of wooden pegging, iron reinforcing rods, and metal turnbuckles.[2]
The bridge is named for S. K. Wright, who sold this portion of the railroad right-of-way in 1871. The first bridge on the site was built soon afterward, by the Sugar River Railroad which originally built this section of railroad. Its successor, the Boston & Maine, built this replacement structure in 1906.[2] The line was operated by the B&M until 1954 when it was sold to the Claremont & Concord Railway. The C&C last ran to Newport in 1977 and the line was subsequently abandoned.[3] The bridge is one of two surviving railroad bridges on the line; the other is Pier Bridge.