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Show Covered Bridge Era Passing Requirements of Modern Transportation Doom Picturesque Pictur-esque Old Structures So Long Landmarks in Vermont; Many Date From Revolution. throughout the nation to tour the Green mountain territory. With these facts li. mind, road builders have asserted as-serted that In order to meet ever-mounting ever-mounting traffic conditions, main-line covered bridges will have to be replaced re-placed In the futile. Yet there will b a great many on secondary and town roads which will, continue to support traffic and which will be preserved pre-served as long as possible. However, as no covered wooden bridges are now being built, there will come a day when these types of structures will become extinct, as far as Vermont Ver-mont Is concerned. Well In the foreground of the rugged scenic beauty of Vermont ate the covored bridges, which lead many roadways over turbulent streams and link the Green mountain past with modern transportation. Thousands of motorists who have passed through the state will remember the rumble from floor planks which echoed Into the roofed spans, ns they passed from sunshine Into gloom, then out again Into the sunlight These quaint structures often served as landmarks, some dating back to days of the Revolutionary war. Previous to 1027 there were between be-tween 600 and COO bridges of the covered cov-ered type In Vermont The flood of that rear, however, destroyed more than half of them. Today there are only 240 remaining. Approximately fifty have been replaced with modern mod-ern structures during the last six years. The Vermont department of highways, high-ways, being aware not only of the picturesque appeal of these ancient structures, but of the sentiment attached at-tached to them, has shaped a policy to retain as many as practical from an engineering standpoint However Increasing volumes of travel and mounting traffic speed have necessitated necessi-tated the removal of some of these spans, especially those on main-line highways. Almost all of the covered bridges have exceptionally strong trusses, but the floor systems are usually too weak for heavy motor traffic. It has been reported In state-wide surveys. Often times new floor systems may be Installed without greaf expenditure, expendi-ture, it has been found, but the chief locations of serious disintegration are at the ends of the structures, where wood supports have been In contact with earth. In a number of cases, it has been discovered, that disintegration has progressed to such an extent that the bridges must be rebuilt These structures are, of course, very old and ns time goes on more and more of them will become unsound. The principal reason stressed for the replacing with modern, rpen structures is the guarding of traffic safety. The old bridges were built during times when traffic was light nnd slow In almost every Instance they were constructed at right angles to the streams which they crossed, with the result that dangerous, sharp-angle turns existed at each end of the structures. This, togeth er with the fact they were narrow and often low arched, made many unfit to meet the requirements of modern travel. Pride In these covered bridges has become deep rooted In the state, how ever, an1 when safety requirements are fulfilled the spans are not replaced re-placed unless the expense connected with necessary repairs or maintenance mainte-nance becomes prohibitive or loca tion or design cause traffic hazards which cannot be remedied. An Important move toward the preservation of the bridges was made by the Vermont legislative assembly this year, when a law was enacted whlcb specified that the state might pay two-thirds the cost of maintenance mainte-nance on state aid roads. Although there Is distinctive attractiveness at-tractiveness to the covered bridges, traffic experts now declare that their days are numbered. According to unofficial figures motor travel In Vermont Ver-mont this year has established a new peak, and an Increasing Interest has been evinced by motor vacationists |