This bridge just keeps on going on

[Dave Grubb]

In the early 70's this bridge was rolling down the Conestoga River just north of Rt 23 as I was crossing the river on the Rt 23 Bridge. We were in the midst of a terrible hurricane (Agnes) that brought some of the worst flooding we have ever seen.

The covered bridge jammed itself under the steel bridge and ended up resting on the west shore of the river. About 2 months latter a group of Amish showed up, took the bridge apart, took it back up stream and reassembled it on new piers.

Based on the pictures here it seems to have suffered little damage as a result of this assault

If I can reduce some of my own pictures of the interior of this bridge I will post them.




Added in edit:

Seeing this bridge floating down the river and then lying on the bank below the steel bridge I saw no signs of structural damage. There was obvious cosmetic damage to the siding but that was easily repaired. Looking at the interior framing of this bridge I think you can see why it survived such a journey. I was working west of the Conestoga River and crossed that bridge daily during the period of salvage and was excited by what I saw

The day of the flood this bridge was not alone in the river, it was closely being followed by a freight trailer---I'm not at all sure there was a tractor connected to it. My wife had called me about noon and told me how bad it was and asked me to please come home----my normal 2 hour drive was a 7 hour drive. Had I not had a 4 wheel drive Suburban I likely would not have made it. I had to stick to ridge tops to avoid the extreme flooding in the valleys.

For the next two weeks or so I was pulled off my project and assigned to doing structural evaluations of flooded homes in Pottstown PA. It was two of the worst weeks of my career. I lost count of how many times I lost my cookies from the stench in those basements with rotting refrigerators and freezers

[FredK]

So how could you roll a car over, if you are paying attention to driving?

[Dave Grubb]

So how could you roll a car over, if you are paying attention to driving?

I think your question presupposes the answer Fred

When I looked at my own pictures of this bridge I think I got a clue. Look at the entry picture and you can see a curb on either side, intended to guide a vehicle away from the structure. My guess is that this guy actually mounted that curb and that is what rolled the car.

[Truckman]

Look at the entry picture and you can see a curb on either side, intended to guide a vehicle away from the structure. My guess is that this guy actually mounted that curb and that is what rolled the car.

In much the same manner as a bullet as it leaves the forcing cone of a barrel, and enters the rifling to initiate spin......Ben

[Dave Grubb]

Looking at the picture of the entrance to the bridge the curb on the right shows signs of moving past misses back in their lane