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Documenting North America's past & present covered bridges

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Bridgeport, Nevada County

If you find errors in the data please contact Bill Caswell.

If you would like to provide information on covered bridges that no longer exist from your state, or adopt a state to work on, we would certainly welcome your assistance. We have designed a form that will assist you in your research and also indicate the type of information we would like to record on each bridge. Once completed, this listing will be a tremendous wealth of historical information. Please contact Trish Kane for more information.

Inventory Number: CA/05-29-01
County: Nevada County
Township:
Town/Village: Bridgeport
Bridge Name: Bridgeport
Crosses: South Fork Yuba River
Truss type: Howe & arch
Spans: 1
Length: 233' roofline, 208' span
Roadway Width: 18'
Built: 1862
Builder: J.W. Woods
When Lost: standing
Cause:
Latitude: N39 17.54
Longitude: W121 11.70
See a map of the area
Topographic map of the area
Directions: 11.5 miles northwest of jct CA20 on CA49, then 6.8 miles left on Pleasant Valley Rd. and 0.2 miles right. South Yuba State Park. T17N R7E S33.

Bridgeport Bridge, Bridgeport, Nevada County, CA Built 1862
Richard Donovan Collection

Comments:
Closed. This structure has been reported to be the longest single span covered bridge. This bridge was built in 1862 to replace an earlier one washed out by heavy rain. The Douglas fir structure was built by J.W. Woods, owner of a sawmill in the mountains. The siding was constructed to accentuate the bridge's arch.

Sources:
Morley, Griswold. The Covered Bridges of California, 1938, pages 50-51 & 91
Adams, Kramer. Covered Bridges of the West: A History and Illustrated Guide, 1963, pages 131, 135 & 138
List of Known Covered Bridges in California as of June 1938, State of California, Bridge Department
National Society for the Preservation of Covered Bridges. World Guide to Covered Bridges, 2009, page 4