West Cornwall Covered Bridge 2

by Joan Carroll

Title

West Cornwall Covered Bridge 2

Artist

Joan Carroll

Medium

Photograph - Digital Photograph

Description

This is a painterly version of my photo of the West Cornwall Covered Bridge. I was on the hunt for Connecticut's historic covered bridges recently and earlier seeing a fake covered bridge set down in a park I was ready for the authenticity of the West Cornwall Covered Bridge in West Cornwall (Litchfield County), CT. The bridge is either 172' or 242' long depending on the website that you read! It is still in use, carrying vehicular traffic over the Housatonic River on Connecticut Route 128. Only one lane of traffic is possible so you have to stop, look, and listen before you venture across in your car. It is listed on the National Register of Historic places and has been a symbol of the area�s rural heritage for almost 150 years. From http://connecticuthistory.org/west-cornwall-covered-bridge-an-icon-of-new-england-craftsmanship/ is the following: "Attempts to build bridges at the site go back as far as 1762, but local ice storms and floods, like the Flood of 1837, claimed these early attempts at crossing the Housatonic. Research has shown that the current structure was most likely built in 1864. It is made of sturdy red spruce, a wood stronger than oak, and held together using treenails, wooden pegs that are wedged into place. It is a lattice truss design, known in the 1800s for providing light-weight yet efficient and durable load-bearing capacity. Despite the bridge�s sturdy construction, there have been numerous challenges to maintaining its integrity. In addition to surviving weather-related threats, the bridge has had to sustain increasingly heavier vehicle traffic. Due in part to safety concerns, the bridge was closed to pedestrian traffic in the 1920s. In 1945, a 20-ton oil truck fell through the bridge floor. In fact, the demands on the bridge had changed so much since its original construction that, by 1968, the State of Connecticut considered replacing the then 100-year-old structure. Responding to this threat, a local group committed to saving the bridge stepped in and convinced the state to make renovations to it instead. In 1973 the Connecticut Department of Transportation inserted a steel support deck that not only saved the bridge but also won the effort an award from the Federal Highway Administration as an outstanding example of historic preservation."

FEATURED PHOTO, Covered Bridges and Historic Places group, 12/2/22

FEATURED PHOTO, The Top 50 Features group, 11/26/22

FEATURED PHOTO, All Places on the Atlantic Coast of the USA group, 2/9/15

Uploaded

November 19th, 2014

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