Covered bridges

Covered Bridges

In memory or imagination, covered bridges conjure up sights and sounds of days gone by. In Virginia, they began to dot the countryside nearly two centuries ago. Spanning rivers and streams, their number grew to the hundreds.

Eventually they gave way to their vulnerability to flood and fire, and to the technology that replaced the wooden peg with the metal bolt and the broadtimbers with narrow steel. By 1900, the overhead steel truss bridge had become the engineers' design of choice.

Relatively few covered bridges survived into the early years of the 20th century. Most of them reflected the evolution in design of three pioneers in the annals of bridge construction:

• Theodore Burr, who patented the Burr arch bridge in 1817.
• Ithiel Town, who patented the Town lattice design in 1835.
• William Howe, who in 1840 patented a design that combined iron uprights with wooden supports.

Today in Virginia, only seven covered bridges still stand. Four have been preserved as landmarks and three are on private property. You are invited to visit these picturesque structures that span time as well as water.

Meem's Bottom Bridge

One of the best-known covered bridges is the 204-foot single-span Burr arch truss known as Meem's Bottom in Shenandoah County.

Here it is possible to step back into the past, while less than a half-mile away the hum of modern-day traffic can be heard on Interstate 81.

The site takes its name from the Meem family that owned large landholdings in the area. This long span over the North Fork of the river carried traffic for more than 80 years before being burned by vandals on Halloween in 1976. After salvaging the original timbers, the bridge was reconstructed and eventually undergirded with steel beams and concrete piers.

Succeeding several earlier bridges, the Meem's Bottom Bridge was built in 1894. Materials were cut and quarried nearby for the massive arch supports and stone abutments, which extend 10 feet below the riverbed.

Previous bridges in this spot were washed away in the floods of 1870 and 1877. The next bridge, built in 1878, stood until it was replaced by the present bridge.

Take a road trip

The bridge is reached easily from Interstate 81 at exit 269 between New Market and Mount Jackson. Follow Route 730 from the interchange for four-tenths of a mile to Route 11. Go north on Route 11 for nine-tenths of a mile to Route 720 and the west a short distance to the river.

It also can be reached off Route 11, four miles north of New Market and about two miles south of Mount Jackson.

Bob White Bridge

On Sept. 29, 2015, the Bob White Covered Bridge was washed away during a flood. 

In an effort to raise funds to rebuild the bridge, various events and fundraisers are being steered by the Covered Bridge Committee, a 501(C)3 organization in Patrick County. 

Their plan is to rebuild the bridge with timber to match the original design and create a replica and historical kiosk from remnants of the bridge that were found after the flood.

Jack's Creek Bridge

Jack's Creek Bridge crosses the Smith River in Patrick County on Route 615 just west of Route 8, about two miles south of Woolwine. The 48-foot span, built in 1914, has been replaced by a modern bridge but is being retained.

Take a road trip

Jack's Creek Bridge can be seen from Route 8 at its intersection with Route 615, or it can be reached by turning west two-tenths of a mile on Route 615.

Humpback Bridge

The venerable Humpback Bridge lays claim to being the oldest of Virginia's remaining covered bridges.

Located in Alleghany County, just west of Covington, it was built in 1857. It was part of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike and succeeds three other bridges at the site. It stretches over Dunlap Creek, a tributary of the Jackson River that joins the Cowpasture River near Iron Gate to form the James River.

The first structure was built in the 1820s and was washed away by a flood on May 12, 1837. The second fell victim to the flood of July 13, 1842. The third, as the annual report of the turnpike company put it, "gave way" in 1856.

The 100-foot-long, single-span structure is four feet higher at its center than it is at either end, thus the name, "Humpback."

Traffic across the bridge ceased in 1929 when it was replaced with a "modern" steel truss bridge.

Restoration

The bridge stood derelict -- and was even used by a nearby farmer to store hay -- until the 1950s.

The Business and Professional Women's Club of Covington and the Covington Chamber of Commerce raised funds to have the bridge restored and preserved as part of Alleghany County's history. 

Humpback Bridge was reopened to the public in 1954 as the centerpiece of an attractive wayside.

In the summer of 2013, the Humpback Bridge underwent additional restorations using funds from the National Historic Covered Bridge Program.

Take a road trip

Humpback Bridge can be reached from Interstate 64 by taking exit 10 to Route 60 and traveling one-half mile east, or by taking Route 60 west from Covington.

Sinking Creek Bridge

The Sinking Creek Bridge (also known as Clover Hollow Bridge), a 70-foot span currently maintained by Giles County,

Between 1912 and 1919, four covered bridges were built across Sinking Creek in Giles County. Remarkably, three of them are still standing over a century later, though two are now on private land. The other survivor, Sinking Creek Covered Bridge, welcomes visitors and even features a guest book.

It was built in 1916 with a modified Howe truss. The structure was replaced by a new bridge just upstream in 1963.

The Newport Town Council completed a two-year restoration of the bridge in 2000. The structure is now the centerpiece of a popular wayside and wedding venue.

Take a road trip

The bridge is located just off Route 601 between Route 42 and Route 700, north of Route 460.

Covered bridges on private property

Three bridges are on private property:

• C.K. Reynolds Covered Bridge, Giles County (Owner intends to rebuild after storm destroyed bridge in March 2017.)
• Biedler Farm Bridge, Rockingham County.
• Links Farm Bridge, Giles County.