Bucher's Mill Covered Bridge Reopens - Stevens, PA
N 40° 12.485 W 076° 08.079
18T E 403440 N 4451470
As a preventative measure, this bridge was temporarily shut down to prevent 'short cut' traffic from using and possibly overwhelming and damaging the bridge due to nearby road construction. The bridge still exists and is gorgeous.
Waymark Code: WMHZV0
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 09/02/2013
Views: 2
The local municipality was asked to temporarily close the bridge as a safe guard from damage. "PennDOT asked us to shut down the covered bridge," Ulaky said. "They were doing a project on State Street (Route 272) and were afraid people would use the (Cocalico Creek) road and the bridge as a shortcut. It wasn't so much the cars they were worried about but the fact that big trucks might try to get through and damage it."
This bridge is in the Amish farmlands, very rural and very scenic. The place looks like a painting. The bridge crosses the Cocalico Creek, providing an alternate name for the bridge as well (its official designation is the Cocalico #2 Bridge) and at 68 ft. is the second shortest bridge in the county. This bridge is also on the National Register of Historic Places.
My good friends at Wikipedia tell me the bridge has a single span, wooden, double Burr arch trusses design with the addition of steel hanger rods. The deck is made from oak planks. It is painted red, the traditional color of Lancaster County covered bridges, on both the inside and outside. Both approaches to the bridge are painted in the traditional white color.
The bridge was built by Elias McMellen in 1881 for $1167. It was extensively damaged by a flood one year later and rebuilt by McMellen again, this time for $1025. It is located 1/8 mile east of Highway 272 and Creek Road. Apparently, it was reconstructed in 1997. The wooden bridge is in great shape.