The first covered bridge in America was built in 1804 across the Hudson River in New York by Theodore Burr of Connecticut . This bridge was called the Waterford Bridge, and it carried traffic across the Hudson for 105 years. Bridge builders covered their bridges to protect their timber trusses from rain, snow and sunshine. By maintaining the bridge's timber trusses under uniform temperature and moisture conditions, their timber truss spans lasted at least three times longer than timbers exposed to the weather. These little brain teaser puzzles are easy to play, but hard to solve.