Over the River ...By Colleen Freyvogel Wooden covered bridges often gain attention because of their beauty and nostalgia. Though these historical structures represent the days of old, they were engineered out of necessity for transportation purposes throughout the country. The majority of these red and white covered roadways can be found nestled between wooded valleys, over babbling brooks and streams or surrounded by wind-blown fields. More than ten of these structures exist in Somerset County and 210 remain standing in Pennsylvania. Bridges have been constructed for thousands of years. The covered bridge design began to appear in this country in the early 1800s for maintenance purposes. Frigid winter weather and simmering sunshine, mixed with stone roads, wooden wagon wheels and the clopping of horse hooves, were a recipe for corroding wooden bridge timbers. The covered portion of the bridge slowed its deterioration. By building this road addition, farmers, land owners and businessmen could make a bridge last dozens of years longer than a bridge without this protection. "A covered bridge is not just a bridge with a cover; it is a truss system that uses heavy timber, assembled in a triangle, to carry loads over an obstruction," says Jim Smedley, newsletter editor for the Theodore Burr Covered Bridge Society. "All of the angles and triangles tighten up and keep the floor from buckling under the pressure of a vehicle. It is hard to understand and it is even harder to explain." To continue this article, 
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