Covered Bridges of Oregon

We didn't realize that Oregon was home to a number of covered bridges until we ran across a couple of them. We found out that the bridges were covered to keep the weather off the wooden floors and thus make them last longer. 

 The first bridge we saw was the Milo Academy Covered Bridge, located about 25 miles east of Canyonville, was on our way back from Crater Lake.

 Today, this is a private bridge that looks old, but in reality has a steel truss system and was built in 1992 to replace the original covered bridge from 1920. 

 Next, we found the Horse Creek bridge in Myrtle Creek, OR, located just a few miles north of Canyonville. We learned that the bridge was built in 1930 and then moved to its current location near a city park in 1990.

 The Horse Creek Bridge no longer carries vehicle traffic, but Rick thought it looked pretty solid. It was fun to look at the construction of the bridge and imagine all the folks that have traveled on it.

 Orinda likes covered bridges and liked walking on the Horse Creek bridge. Today, the bridge crosses the Myrtle Creek after being moved from Horse Creek and still is providing safe travel 80 years after it was built.

 The Horse Creek bridge is about 105' long and is a true wooden truss bridge. This bridge provided the main traffic route until the late 1960's.

The Neal Lane Bridge is also located in Myrtle Creek and is still carrying traffic today! This bridge was built in 1929.

Orinda is checking out the narrow windows in the bridge which makes the bridge look shorter than the 42' that it actually is. This makes it one of the shortest covered bridges in the state. 

 Rick was able to prove that the bridge still works! He decided it is much easier to drive through covered bridges than giant redwood trees.

Our final stop on the bridge tour is the Grave Creek bridge in Sunny Valley, OR which is about 15 miles north of Grants Pass. This bridge, built in 1920, is still carrying traffic and is in great shape. 

 The interior of the bridge shows the Howe Truss that supports the 105' structure. Interestingly, the original cost of the bridge was $21,128, which shows that you could buy a lot more in 1920 than you can today with a dollar!