Why were New England bridges covered?

Made from available timber, such as spruce and white pine, the bridges were flexible and strong but decayed quickly when exposed to rain and snow. By the early 1800s, bridge builders began to protect their bridges with roofs and siding – making covered bridges.



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By the 1870s, most bridges were covered at the time of construction. The original reason for the cover was to protect the bridge's trusses and decks from snow and rain, preventing decay and rot.

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Pine Brook Covered Bridge Covered bridges were roofed and enclosed to protect the wooden structural elements from the weather, which in Vermont can be quite harsh. Little more than 100 covered bridges remain in the state, the result of expanding highway systems, intensive commercial development, and physical neglect.

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The bridges were covered by order of the County Board of Supervisors to help preserve the large flooring timbers, which were more expensive to replace than the lumber used to cover the sides and roof. Usually, the bridges were named for the resident who lived closest.

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Today there are around 200 covered bridges, that remain in the state of Pennsylvania, and that includes 28 just in Lancaster County! While covered bridges are sometimes called “kissing bridges” the reason for the roofs is to protect the bridge's truss structure from all the weather conditions.

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To increase their useful life, houses were constructed over the timber trusses to protect them from the damp western Oregon climate. The heyday of covered bridge building in Oregon occurred between 1905 and 1925 when there were an estimated 600 covered bridges in the state.

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