BROOKFIELD, Vt. — A tiny Vermont town’s famous wooden floating bridge — believed to be the only one of its kind in the country — has been rebuilt and is reopening this weekend with fanfare including a parade with a bagpiper, high school marching band, oxen team, horses, and antique cars crossing the new span Saturday. Just not all at once.
The Brookfield bridge on Route 65 — a state highway that is unpaved through the village — has been closed for seven years after its floatation system started to fail, causing it to be partially submerged.
Residents are excited about having the one-lane bridge across Sunset Lake opened again to vehicles and pedestrians as summer approaches in the community of 1,200, where historic homes dot the landscape along the picturesque water. The bridge has now been replaced seven times and the parade will be staggered to avoid, for the time being at least, an eighth.
“We’re just thrilled to see it open,” said Jane Doerfer, owner of the Green Trails Inn, across the street from the bridge, which often gets business from tourists who come to see the bridge and then decide to stay overnight.
She lost a lot business when the bridge closed but said she would rather focus on the good news that the new bridge is complete. “Let’s just concentrate on we now have a bridge where we can hear the children laughing as they jump off the bridge and things like that.” Read More
Here’s the bridge back in 2008 via Google Maps
