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Destination
Thursday - The Bridges of Indiana County
In her spare time, WPC Volunteer Pat Kraeuter has made an extensive study
of our area's covered bridges. Today we feature some of her photos and
facts, as we present the guideposts for a leasurely, almost autumn weekend
drive through Indiana County. All of the bridges in this county are within
easy driving distance of the county seat, Indiana, and are all within
fifteen to twenty miles of each other. They are well worth seeking if
you are in the central to western part of the state.
There
almost always seems to be something common about the covered bridges located
in a given county, and Indiana County is no exception. The common feature
in this county is the shape of each bridge when viewed from the side:
all are trapezoidal , having and the bottoms, but sides that are closer
at the bottom and slope noticeably outward toward the top. This should
be evident in all the photographs taken in this county.
1.
Harmon's Bridge
This bridge is also one of three Town truss bridges
in Indiana County. Although only one bridge is being used for vehicular
traffic, the county has done a good job of preserving all the remaining
covered structures.
This bridge is being preserved by the county in a park-like setting; it
was bypassed by a new wooden bridge in 1984. The new bridge, with the
exception of the concrete abutments and macadam road surface, is constructed
of heavy laminated, creosoted wooden beams, planks, and guardrails. The
Harmon Bridge is covered with random-width vertical boards on both sides
and portals, has a sheet metal roof and a deck of crosswise planking.
It rests on cut stone abutments and has no wingwalls. Both this and the
Trusal Bridge are in lovely pastoral settings.
2.
Trusal / Dice's Bridge
Just about a half mile as the crow flies from Harmon's Bridge, this bridge
is covered with vertical random-width boards on both sides and portals,
sheet metal roof, and a deck of lengthwise planking. It rests on stone-and-mortar
abutments that have been reinforced with concrete. The area surrounding
this bridge may be developed into a county park. It was just bypassed
in 1990. The new bridge is of similar construction to the new Harmon's
Bridge.
3.
Kintersburg Bridge
This bridge is one of the few Howe truss structures left in the state
of Pennsylvania and the only one in Indiana County. It does, however,
have the same trapezoidal configuration as the other bridges in the county
and is in a pastoral setting. It, too, has random-width vertical boards
on both sides and portals, has a sheet metal roof, and has a deck of lengthwise
random-width planking. It rests on cut stone-and-mortar abutments reinforced
with concrete. It also has some additional vertical timbers supporting
the deck, located on concrete footings a short distance from each end.
As true of any of the Indiana's covered spans, the only side openings
are the narrow lengthwise ones immediately under the eaves.
4.
Thomas Ford Bridge
This is the only covered bridge in the county that is being used for vehicular
traffic. It is on a secondary township dirt road and seems to be fairly
heavily used. It, like the other bridges of the county, has random-width
vertical board siding on both the sides and portals and a deck of lengthwise
planking. This bridge has a shingle roof.. It rests on cut stone abutments
with concrete reinforcement. Like the other bridges in the county, it
has no wingwalls.
Driving
directi0ns from downtown Pittsburgh to Willet, Pa.
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