CLARENDON, Vt. (WCAX) – A historic covered bridge in Clarendon is set to reopen sometime next week after more than a year of renovations.
The Kingsley Covered Bridge has been closed since May of last year. It was built in the 1800s and hadn’t seen any maintenance work in the last 30 years. The bridge connects residents to both routes 103 and 7 to take them into Rutland. It spans the Mill River right next to the old Kingsley Grist Mill.
Clarendon Selectboard Chair Mike Klopchin says keeping the history of the bridge was important during reconstruction. “Right now, it means a whole lot to keep that historic nature. We did have a choice. We could have rebuilt a whole new bridge there, you know, modern-day kind of thing, but a majority of the people who weighed in from the town, especially that live over there, absolutely wanted that covered bridge because of the historic nature,” he said.
Officials hope to open the bridge by July 4.