JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT YOU HAVE SEEN IT ALL!!!

EDIT: I FORGOT TO MENTION THAT THE MAIN REASON FOR THIS THREAD WAS BECAUSE OF THE HISTORICAL VALUE OF THESE BRIDGES AND THE RARITY IN NUMBERS COMPARED TO THE TENS OF THOUSANDS OF COMMON BRIDGES THROUGHOUT THE U.S.A.



We have all heard that phrase and have witnessed or heard about things that has us :shakehead!!!

The other day I saw a Helicopter hovering from above about a mile from my house. When I watched the evening news I found out why!

I will digress a bit. Some history I learned on Jeopardy awhile back! Pennsylvania has more COVERED BRIDGES than any other State in the U.S.A. We have over 200!

Those [200+] were ones of historical significance. I just learned that there are at least twice that many that were built in the last 50 years or so that don't have the historical value.

There is One that is Two miles away and there are Four[4] within Five[5] miles of my house! This is about the bridge Two miles away!

This guy tried to drive his Tractor Trailer through it!!!:shakehead:mecry: HUGE signs on either side saying, "MAXIMUM HEIGHT 10FT.!!!

WHAT A BONEHEAD!

Not only did he try to drive through, he continued to drive until he got to the other side while ripping support beams down, metal cable ect. along the way!!

They just spent 1.5 million dollars Two years ago refurbishing this Bridge which is almost 200 years old!

He got the book thrown at him as far as citations go!! He had only been driving for 5 days!!! Needless to say I think his Truck driving days/career are over!!

Pictures give you an idea but do not show the whole bridge. The road is closed on either side. I only took pictures from one side which was the side I believe he exited from.The opposite side had even more structural damage!

In all seriousness it is sad and disappointing. They had this bridge closed for a year when they refurbished it. Without it it causes a bit more traffic in the area.

My neighbor emailed pics. to his daughter in college and she cried when she saw them! For our area, for the U.S.A , these are very historic and are Nationally registered.


PICTURES BELOW.


P.S. HE WAS NOT FROM AROUND HERE,HE WAS FROM NEW YORK!!! Not sure that he was familiar with the "Historic Country side"!!!

DON'T NEED NO WARNING SIGN, THIS IS A TRUCK..

Not good!!! What a *beep* in UK we get it with trucks now and them,some cars even drive off cliffs as their satnav directed them........:shakehead

But out around once a year or 2 a double decker bus(think red London bus) try going under a low bridge and make it into a single decker......

Capolini said:

P.S. HE WAS NOT FROM AROUND HERE,HE WAS FROM NEW YORK!!! Not sure that he was familiar with the "Historic Country side"!!!

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Why do you have to specify that he was from New York, what's that suppose to mean!?!?!? LOL....
Shame about the bridge.

StarHalo, funny video.

P_A_S_1 said:

Why do you have to specify that he was from New York, what's that suppose to mean!?!?!? LOL....
Shame about the bridge.

StarHalo, funny video.

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LOL!!! NO offense!! He could have been from Philadelphia, L.A., ect!!! He was not a country boy,probably never saw an Historical Covered Bridge!! He won't forget about them now!! I was surprised w/ some of his charges, some I think because of the Historical value!!

I know, just kidding with you a bit. I'm sure he'll be much more cautious from now on.

P_A_S_1 said:

I know, just kidding with you a bit. I'm sure he'll be much more cautious from now on.

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More cautious?!!! lol!! He will NEVER DRIVE A TRUCK AGAIN!! At least legally!! lol No doubt he was fired!

I could imagine how much insurance is going to go up for the owner[Trucking company] and be put out for repairs. Like I said they just spent[community raised] 1.5 Million restoring it!

LOL Probably. 1.5 million, I would think most of that is labor and keeping the structure historically sound. The man hours that went into restoration must be a lot.

StarHalo said:

DON'T NEED NO WARNING SIGN, THIS IS A TRUCK..

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Wow, that brings back old memories. My brother owns a trucking company. Back in the '80s he hired a driver who ran the box of a high-cube 24" bobtail into a tree so it had damage in one corner of it (it's a tall version of the trucks seen hitting the bridge in this video). I drove that truck for the next few weeks, gaping hole and all, before he could get it repaired. At one point I was making a delivery and the road I was on brought me to raised train tracks like in the video. The sign told me it was going to be close but I should be good by an inch or two. Though I didn't make contact with the bridge, I'm sure folks seeing me crawling that truck under it thought I did coming out the other side due to the existing hole.

Same truck different day, pulling into a gas station that someone else obviously ran their truck into the overhead covering and me pulling in with a damaged box, the owner came running out waving his arms at me to not pull in. I stuck my head out the window and told him I intended to stop before hitting it and that the fuel hose should reach. He was a nervous wreck.

In the five years that I was a truck driver I had only put one scratch on the truck when I was on a narrow street and another truck was coming the opposite way. I pulled the truck over as far as I could without hopping on the curb and heard the screeching of the corner of a 'yield' sign scratching its way down the full length of the box. It was just deep enough that it wasn't something that would buff out, but, it didn't crease the metal.

That's a shame, quite a beautiful bridge, that! Is that main curved beam wood? That's gotta be hard to curve a huge chunk of wood like that!

bshanahan14rulz said:

That's a shame, quite a beautiful bridge, that! Is that main curved beam wood? That's gotta be hard to curve a huge chunk of wood like that!

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Good question!! I am not sure!! If I were to guess I would say yes.

The covered bridge in Valley Forge National Park is built the same way. They are both some of the oldest covered bridges in America.

No such thing as seeing it ALL.

Monocrom said:

No such thing as seeing it ALL.

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It is just an expression!! You read my thread just to post that?!! lol!

Capolini said:

It is just an expression!! You read my thread just to post that?!! lol!

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I wanted your thread to get more hits.

Monocrom said:

I wanted your thread to get more hits.

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Thanks for the consideration,,too bad you could not have added something more beneficial and interesting!!! :laughing:

Monocrom said:

No such thing as seeing it ALL.

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This is what I really wanted to say, so I will say it!!!

What is the point of your sarcastic and provoking post?

Maybe you wanted to get a reaction from it? Some comments[like yours] are BEST ignored, which I obviously did not do!

StarHalo said:

DON'T NEED NO WARNING SIGN, THIS IS A TRUCK..

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Now I understand why civil engineering guys stress "overengineering" so much when building public infrastructure. Surprisingly it held after all these collisions

I worked in the truck equipment business for a while selling arts and doing service. We manufactured truck bodies also. The number of times I sold parts to repair truck boxes shortened due to low-bridging was daily, most days more than one. I have repaired quite a few also, you should see what one looks like when it has caught a bridge at freeway speed.

Every truck is required to have it's height posted in the cab, and I believe every bridge has it's clearance height posted.
some people are just thick....

Thank you Illum and jabe1 for adding something relative to the subject matter!!!

p.s. Illum,how come the Husky is in second from the last?!!!! He should be out front pulling a sled!!