The Lyme–East Thetford Bridge is located in a rural setting between the village of East Thetford on the Vermont side and Lyme village 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east in New Hampshire. It consists of two Parker truss spans, set on concrete abutments and a central concrete pier. The trusses are fabricated out of rolled steel I-beams, and the main deck is steel covered by asphalt.[4]
The bridge location was the site of a ferry as early as 1780.[2] A bridge is documented at this site in the 1840s, and a bridge built in the 1890s was destroyed by flooding in 1936. The present bridge was constructed as a replacement for the latter bridge, its abutments and piers built higher as a defense against future flooding. The bridge trusses were fabricated by the American Bridge Company, and it was largely funded by the federal government through the Works Progress Administration.[2][4] The bridge is fairly typical of truss bridges built in Vermont at the time,[4] and is the longest two-span Parker truss in the state of New Hampshire.[2] It is one of five Parker truss bridges spanning the Connecticut River.[4]
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