Our team assisted with the rehabilitation of one of the last Town lattice wooden truss bridges in Pennsylvania. The project included repairing and reusing portions of the historic covered bridge wherever possible while providing the structural integrity to handle modern highway loads. This was accomplished with a unique and innovative solution: the addition of a structurally independent floor system that absorbs the vehicle loads without support from the truss and roof.

The floor system is constructed of steel I-beams and nail-laminated timber decking to handle up to 15-ton vehicles. The connection between the bottom chords of the lattice trusses and the steel I-beams allows the floor to deflect vertically under live loading, while the lattice trusses and roof system do not. Conversely, the lattice trusses will deflect under the weight of snow on the roof, but the independent floor system will not.

The historic wooden truss and roof were covered with a standing seam, stainless steel metal roof, which is better equipped to withstand the lake effect snow in the region. It will shed snow loads more quickly than other roofing materials, reducing the dead load on the bridge. The metal is also fire-resistant, a key consideration since a nearby covered bridge was destroyed by arson in 2008.

Other improvements included new concrete abutments with architectural treatment and new wooden decking, roof framing, and siding. The approach roadway and pull-off locations on each side of the bridge were also repaved, and guiderail was added.

The original 85-foot-long bridge was built in 1875 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was closed to traffic in May 2011 due to safety concerns and reopened in November 2024 with a public ribbon-cutting ceremony.