Covered Bridges on Two Wheels

More about the trusses... 

At first glance, it may appear to be a Burr arch truss design in which a supporting arch is superimposed on a multiple kingpost truss. However, both the posts and the bracing between them are made of timber that have the dimensions of planks, rather than posts. It is thought that because it varies from the patented design, the unknown builder(s) may have been unaware of Haupt's patent and simply built trusses that resembled his design by coincidence.

One of the longer covered bridges in the state, it underwent major work in 1963 to help it accommodate more modern traffic demands. While it is still considered a single-span bridge, a pier was erected mid-span to help support steel beams that were installed under the deck. At that time, the trusses were separated from the floor so that the trusses only support the dead weight of the bridge itself while the steel-beam-reinforced floor handles vehicle loads. The bridge is an oft-used connector between routes 113 and 132.

In 1997 the bridge was severely damaged when a dump truck was driven into the bridge with the bed raised. About two-thirds of the roof was torn off. In 2007 it received a complete renovation, but there continues to be a problem with large vehicles striking the tie-beams overhead. The steel beams have a camber to them, but the trusses (and thus the covering) does not. That means that vehicles that can clear the portals may not necessarily clear the tie beams in the middle of the bridge. This has lead to frequent replacement of the tie beams. It also doesn't help that at one point, a local logger intentionally took a chainsaw to the tie beams so that the boom of his truck would fit!

There has also been concern from the community regarding pedestrian safety inside the bridge, but I'm not quite sure why that would be other than the fact that it is a busy bridge. I purposely avoid taking pictures of bridges with vehicles in them (so that they have a more timeless quality to them), but in this case, I wanted to illustrate just how wide the inside of this bridge is. In the slideshow above, in one of the shots, you can clearly see how much room is available on either side of the car inside. I think it probably might be possible to stop in the middle of bridge and turn around if you wanted to, depending on just how big your car is.

Visiting the bridge:

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There is very little parking at the bridge due to congestion in the area (there are quite a few homes and driveways). On the eastern side is a small pull-off that you can use. From this little area, you can also explore down by the river and view the many remains of the old mills that used to be here, and what's left of the mill dam.

As previously mentioned, there tends to be quite a bit of traffic here, but despite the locals wanting some safety measures taken for pedestrians, the bridge has remained unaltered from its original design.

Painted pedestrian zones and an added walkway off the side of the bridge have been rejected because they alter the historic structure of the bridge. The only concession to pedestrians when I visited were stop signs on both sides of the bridge to help slow traffic.

I was inside of the bridge at the time I photographed the car going through, and I didn't think there was any problem with safety. But use your own judgement.