Covered Bridge Projects

Photo courtesy of PrebleCountyRegion

Hueston Woods Double Barrel Covered Bridge

Preble County’s newest covered bridge was opened on Memorial Day, 2012.  The bridge is a single span modified burr arch design, covered timber structure with concrete foundations that spans 108 feet.  A six-foot walkway is located on each side of the bridge to provide for pedestrian traffic.  This bridge replaces the old steel truss bridge which was constructed in 1929. 

Portland Bolt was chosen to manufacture and supply 14,400 pounds of domestic, galvanized hex bolts, lag screws, timber bolts, drive spikes and 34’ long high-strength rods because of Portland Bolt’s in-house manufacturing capabilities.  This was another successful covered wooden bridge project that was added to Portland Bolt’s long list of wood bridges. Read more...

John Wunderlich

• Phone: 800.599.2943
• Email: john@portlandbolt.com

Gifford Covered Bridge

The Gifford Covered Bridge, located in South Randolph, Vermont, was originally built in 1904 by an unknown builder. Also known as the C.K. Smith Covered Bridge, the structure crosses the White River and is located on Hyde Road. The bridge is thought to have originated as an open bridge, without the covered structure it has today, and to have been constructed in the 1880s. The truss system used in its construction is distinctive and exemplifies the design and construction techniques of the pre-covered bridge era. Due to its unique nature, it is on the National Registry of Historic Places. The 44 foot span has been altered and fortified throughout the years resulting in a heavily modified deck system along with steel I-beams, which have been used to strengthen the bridge. Read more...

Kyle Pettijohn

• Phone: 800.628.9472
• Email: kyle@portlandbolt.com

Parvin Road Covered Bridge

The Parvin Road Covered Bridge that spans Lost Creek in Lane County Oregon was originally built in 1921 for $3600.00, replacing the original bridge that had been erected in the 1880’s.  This 75 foot Howe truss is one of 50 covered bridges in the state of Oregon.  In the mid 1970’s the bridge was bypassed due to highway realignment and restricted to pedestrian traffic only.  In 1986, the bridge was reopened to vehicular traffic and dedicated to the Parvin family which homesteaded the area in the mid 1800’s.  It has since been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Portland Bolt was called upon to manufacture 1-3/8” and 1-3/4” x 20+ foot, high strength rods to reinforce the bridge.  We also fabricated ½” and 3/4” galvanized lag screws with domestic steel to provide full certification documents.  Although this was a county project, not an ODOT job, the county required all fasteners and hardware be 100% melted and manufactured in the United States.  With Portland Bolt’s large inventory of domestic nuts and round bar, we were able to provide material to the job site in two weeks accompanied with clear and concise mill test reports via automatically generated emails that were quickly signed off on and kept the job moving on time. Read more...

Steven Wallenstein

• Phone: 800.598.4204
• Email: steven@portlandbolt.com

Chambers Railroad Covered Bridge

In 1925, J.H. Chambers constructed a bridge to transport logs across the Coast Fork Willamette River to his sawmill on the east side of the bridge. The bridge was operational until 1951, when the bridge was sold for scrap. The bridge's full ownership was secured by the City of Cottage Grove and is listed on the National Historic Register. The Chambers Railroad Bridge is the only remaining covered Railroad Bridge in Oregon and is believed to be one of only two remaining west of the Mississippi River.

After a storm in January of 2010, there was an emergency declared due to the bridge being in danger of imminent collapse. There was significant damage and decay and the bridge was leaning to the upper river side. There was a concern that if restoration work didn't happen immediately, Oregon's only remaining covered railroad bridge would be lost forever. In February 2010, the Cottage Grove City Council declared it an emergency and authorized the immediate dismantling of the bridge. Read more...

Anthony Porreco

• Phone: 800.599.6926
• Email: anthony@portlandbolt.com

Image courtesy of Dave Spengler

West Liberty Street Bridge

The covered bridge capital of Ohio is adding another covered bridge.

Ashtabula County in north east Ohio is adding its 18th covered bridge, the West Liberty Street Bridge. Already home to the longest covered bridge in the United States (Smolen-Gulf Bridge), this new bridge will be the shortest covered bridge in the United States at 18' long. Portland Bolt has the distinction of supplying all of the bolts for both of these projects. All products are hot dip galvanized and 100% domestic. The truss rods for this project are 1-1/2 x 20' A572 grade 50 and the timber bolts are 5/8" and 3/4" diameter. We also supplied galvanized high strength all thread rod and lag bolts and shipped the entire order in less than 3 weeks.

The West Liberty Street Covered Bridge is being constructed almost entirely of locally sawn, donated local timber and is being fabricated with local labor by students at the Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School. Read more...

Gary Rusynyk

• Phone: 800.599.7838
• Email: gary@portlandbolt.com

Worrall Covered Bridge

The Worrall Covered Bridge, located a few miles from Rockingham, Vermont, is a lattice style bridge spanning 87 feet over the Williams River. Originally built in 1868, the bridge was considered in need of repair in 2008 by the National Covered Bridge Preservation Project. After receiving federal funds for improvements and repairs, the bridge received many upgrades including increased fire retardation, replacement of timbers, structural preservation and a new bridge approach. In May of 2010, Portland Bolt supplied custom galvanized carriage bolts, timber bolts, hex bolts, threaded rods and plates that would be used in the new approach span. All of the bolts were domestically manufactured in house from start to finish, including the forging of the heads, threading and hot-dip galvanizing. Read more...

Kyle Pettijohn

• Phone: 800.628.9472
• Email: kyle@portlandbolt.com