Bridgeport Covered Bridge

The Bridgeport Covered Bridge is located in Bridgeport, Nevada County, California, southwest of French Corral and north of Lake Wildwood. It is used as a pedestrian crossing over the South Yuba River. The bridge was built in 1862 by David John Wood. Its lumber came from Plum Valley in Sierra County, California.[5] The bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in 1972 and pedestrian traffic in 2011 due to deferred maintenance and "structural problems".[6]

Bridgeport Covered Bridge
View of the Bridgeport Covered Bridge
Coordinates39°17′33.86″N 121°11′41.66″W
CarriesPedestrian
CrossesSouth Yuba River
LocaleNevada County, California
Characteristics
DesignHowe truss with auxiliary arch covered bridge[1]
Total length233 feet (71 m)[1]
Longest span208 feet (63 m)[2]
Load limit13 Tons (Current estimate at 3 tons due to age of timbers)
History
DesignerDavid Ingefield Wood[1]
Opened1862[1]
Bridgeport Covered Bridge
Nearest cityFrench Corral, CA
Built1862[2]
Architectural styleHowe truss with an auxiliary Burr Arch Truss[2]
NRHP reference No.71000168
CHISL No.390[3]
Added to NRHPJuly 14, 1971[4]
Location

On June 20, 2014, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed budget legislation that included $1.3 million for the bridge's restoration. The work was slated to be done in two phases—near-term stabilization followed by restoration.[7] The bridge reopened to pedestrians in November 2021 following completion of the restoration work.[8]

The Bridgeport Covered Bridge has the longest clear single span of any surviving wooden covered bridge in the world.[1][9]

Historic landmark

The bridge is California Registered Historical Landmark No. 390,[3] was designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1970,[2] and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[4] There are four plaques at the site.[10]

The State Historical Landmark plaque was placed in 1964. The landmark was rededicated in 2014. The inscription on the current plaque reads:

"Built in 1862 by David J. Wood with lumber from his mill in Sierra County. The covered bridge was part of the Virginia Turnpike Company toll road that served the northern mines and the Nevada Comstock Lode. The associated ranch and resources for rest and repair provided a necessary lifeline across the Sierra Nevada. Utilizing a unique combination truss and arch construction, Bridgeport Covered Bridge is one of the oldest housed spans in the western United States and the longest single span wooden covered bridge in the world."[11]

The bridge was an important link in a freight-hauling route that stretched from the San Francisco Bay to Virginia City, Nevada and points beyond after the discovery of the Comstock Lode in 1859 sparked a mining boom in Nevada. Steamboats carried freight Archived 2014-09-02 at the Wayback Machine from the San Francisco Bay up the Sacramento River to Marysville, where it was loaded onto wagons for the trip across the Sierra Nevada via the Virginia Turnpike, and Henness Pass Road. The route across the bridge was ultimately eclipsed by the completion of the First transcontinental railroad as far as Reno in 1868 via Donner Pass, but it continued to serve nearby communities in the foothills until improved roads and bridges on other routes drew away most of the traffic.

Longest span

A report by the U.S. Department of the Interior states that the Bridgeport Covered Bridge (HAER No. CA-41) has clear spans of 210 feet (64 m) on one side and 208 feet (63 m) on the other, while Old Blenheim Bridge (HAER No. NY-331) had a documented clear span of 210 feet (64 m) in the middle (1936 HABS drawings).[12]

With the 2011 destruction of the Old Blenheim Bridge, the Bridgeport Covered Bridge is the undisputed longest-span wooden covered bridge still surviving. Historically, the longest single-span covered bridge on record was Pennsylvania's McCall's Ferry Bridge with a claimed clear span of 360 feet (110 m) (built 1814–15, destroyed by ice jam 1817).[12]

See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bridgeport Covered Bridge.

References
  1. Jackson, Donald C. (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. Wiley. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-471-14385-5.
  2. "Bridgeport Covered Bridge". Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CA-41. 1985-01-01.
  3. "Bridgeport Covered Bridge". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
  4. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  5. "California Historical Landmarks in Nevada County". noehill.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
  6. Renda, Matthew (October 19, 2011). "Historic Bridgeport Bridge to close". The Appeal-Democrat. Marysville, CA. Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  7. Ochavillo, Vanessa (June 27, 2014). "State budget includes money to restore Bridgeport Covered Bridge". The Sacramento Bee. Archived from the original on 2014-07-27. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  8. O'Neil, Rebecca (November 4, 2021). "'A place of connection': State Parks celebrates rehabbed Bridgeport Covered Bridge". The Union. Grass Valley, CA. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  9. The Nevada County, California website Archived September 8, 2012, at archive.today that claims Bridgeport Covered Bridge has a longer span than the Old Blenheim Bridge had, also claims it is a National Historic Landmark. While the National Historic Landmark search system Archived 2008-07-10 at the Wayback Machine does not report on the existence of this bridge as a National Historic Landmark. It is a California Historical Landmark and listed at the National Register of Historic Places.
  10. Comstock, David A. and Zimmerman, Bernard, Exploring Nevada County (2017 electronic edition) #4.
  11. "Bridgeport (Nyes Crossing) Covered Bridge". HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  12. Bennett, Lola (2002–2003). "Blenheim Bridge". National Covered Bridges Recording Project. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-331.
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