Bridgeport Covered Bridge | |
|---|---|
 View of the Bridgeport Covered Bridge | |
| Coordinates | 39°17′33.86″N 121°11′41.66″W / 39.2927389°N 121.1949056°W |
| Carries | Pedestrian |
| Crosses | South Yuba River |
| Locale | Nevada County, California |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Howe truss with auxiliary arch covered bridge[1] |
| Total length | 233 feet (71 m)[1] |
| Longest span | 208 feet (63 m)[2] |
| Load limit | 13 Tons (Current estimate at 3 tons due to age of timbers) |
| History | |
| Designer | David Ingefield Wood[1] |
| Opened | 1862[1] |
Bridgeport Covered Bridge | |
| Nearest city | French Corral, CA |
| Built | 1862[2] |
| Architectural style | Howe truss with an auxiliary Burr Arch Truss[2] |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000168 |
| CHISL No. | 390[3] |
| Added to NRHP | July 14, 1971[4] |
| Location | |
 | |
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]
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]
- ^ a b c d e Jackson, Donald C. (1988). Great American Bridges and Dams. Wiley. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-471-14385-5.
- ^ a b c "Bridgeport Covered Bridge". Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. CA-41. 1985-01-01.
- ^ "Bridgeport Covered Bridge". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-10.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "California Historical Landmarks in Nevada County". noehill.com. Retrieved 2009-05-28.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.