“This bridge will triumphantly typify the trail-blazing strategy…” so said Pennsylvania Governor John S. Fine in 1954 about the soon to be constructed Hawk Falls Bridge, finishing with “that took the Pennsylvania Turnpike System across streams of great width and turbulence…and through the rocky cores of mighty mountains.”
Category: Bridges (Page 1 of 5)
Last year, we announced PennDOT’s new funding source for historic metal truss bridges and highlighted two rehabilitation projects that were selected for the new program. With those projects well on their way, the Historic Metal Truss Bridge Capital Rehabilitation Program has since added four additional bridge projects across the Commonwealth.
Spring is around the corner, and long-requested updates to Surveyor Manager functionality are the among the first new blooms of the season!
It’s been a minute since I did a “year in review” post for the blog, so I thought I’d treat our readers to PA SHPO’s version of the ubiquitous end-of-year list.
In the spirit ICYMI, here is a list of the best posts from 2023 that you want to be sure to read. If I had to sum up the blog’s year in one phrase, I think it’s “a year of education, entertainment, and everything in between.”
![Person walking through covered bridge.](https://pahistoricpreservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/photo-8b.jpg)
From Fifty-One to Two: Rehabilitation of One of Schuylkill County’s Last Two Remaining Covered Bridges
The Rock Covered Bridge and Zimmerman Covered Bridge National Register nominations note that Schuylkill County once had fifty-one covered bridges. By the time the nominations were written in 1977, the total count was down to two.
As one of the most heavily traveled states in the country, Pennsylvania’s vast transportation network demonstrates technological changes from the 18th century to the present.
These changes, and the growth of Pennsylvania and the United States, would not be possible without bridges. Pennsylvania’s key location placed the Commonwealth at the forefront of development and application of innovative bridge technology and engineering.
![Metal truss bridge over water with a road on the opposite side and trees on stream banks.](https://pahistoricpreservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Photo-1-Cons-Road-Bridge-676x507.jpg)
Update on PennDOT’s Historic Metal Truss Bridge Management Plan
In 2017, PennDOT, in conjunction with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the PA SHPO, published the Metal Truss Bridge Management Plan (Management Plan). This plan, designed to serve as an ongoing planning tool, was the result of a multi-year effort to address the accelerating loss of historic metal truss bridges throughout the state. Now, roughly six years after the publication of the official document, PennDOT would like to provide an update.
![White barn with two smaller buildings to the side and a car parked in the gravel lot.](https://pahistoricpreservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/2023-07-20T11-37-54_IMG_9681-1-sm-676x507.jpg)
Intern Introspect: 2023 PennDOT Internship
As one door closes, a new door opens and a new journey in life begins. This feeling of sad excitement doesn’t even begin to encompass how I have come to view my experiences and learning opportunities this past summer.
This is part of a biannual blog series highlighting the agreement documents executed by PA SHPO in accordance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations.
Between January 1 and June 30, 2023, PA SHPO has been a signatory to approximately nine (9) Section 106 agreement documents with six different federal agencies as part of consultation for the resolution of adverse effects to historic properties.
![Group of people standing on a metal bridge over water.](https://pahistoricpreservation.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/June232020-sm-676x451.jpg)
Celebrating the Friends of Sheepford Road Bridge
Each week in May, to celebrate National Historic Preservation Month, we will highlight one of the 2022 Community Initiative Award winners. In this week’s post, I asked Janice Lynx, Executive Director of the West Short Historical Society, about their successful efforts to save Sheepford Road Bridge.
Sheepford Road Bridge is one of the first bridges to receive funds from PennDOT’s Historic Metal Truss Capital Rehabilitation Program, a new program created to promote the rehabilitation of historic metal truss bridges. I’ll take this opportunity to let our readers know that we also publish a biannual newsletter in partnership with PennDOT dedicated to the preservation and reuse of metal truss bridges. You can sign up here!
Recent Comments