Iron bridges haven't become visiting attractions like Vermont's covered bridges, but historians consider them just as rare and significant. In fact they are rarer in Vermont because, unlike wooden bridges, they can't be maintained piece by piece and thus are more subject to catastrophic failure. When the 1,200-foot 1929 iron bridge connecting Vermont with the New York acrosss Lake Champlain had to be demolished in 2008, this useful diagram of iron bridge parts and terminology was shown at one of the associated public hearings.