Rapps Bridge - Phoenixville, PA
Posted by: 
Janila
N 40° 08.293 W 075° 33.172
18T E 452902 N 4443244
Rapps Bridge was built in 1866 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, along with 14 other covered bridges in Chester County, PA.
Waymark Code: WMZ9JT
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 10/04/2018
Views: 0
Named for George A. Rapp, a sawmill and gristmill owner, this wooden covered bridge was built in 1866. According to the nomination form, this bridge was the most expensive to build of the over 100 covered bridges built in Chester County. It was built at a cost of $3950.50. Today, only 15 of these covered bridges remain.
The bridge description from the nomination form follows (
visit link) :
"Rapps Bridge is a wooden covered bridge little altered since its construction in 1866.
Its gable roof is covered by wooden shingles and its sides are enclosed by horizontal wooden sheathing. Occasional openings in the sheathing allow for ventilation of the bridge's interior. The abutments are of random fieldstone. Its roadway is fourteen feet wide and spans a distance of 122 feet over French Creek.
The bridge entranceways are unique among covered bridges in the area. Their broken triangular pediments reflect the Greek Revival spirit of contemporary architecture. Structurally, the bridge is of the Burr-truss type, almost universally employed in its area and period. On each side of the roadway is a heavy timber bolted to a kingpost truss. Together they support the level roadway. The total load of the span is thus divided between arch and truss, each a capable structure in itself.
Such a design allowed construction of unprecedented spans, like that of Rapps Bridge, one of the longest covered bridges in the area."
The nomination form also provides an explanation for the reason that bridges were covered with walls and roofs - "to strengthen the bridge structurally, to keep the wood trusses from rotting, and to reassure frightened animals as they crossed the water."
Although the bridge was in good shape at the time of its entrance onto the NRHP, from the Phoenixville Sun (
visit link) : "In 2011, it underwent a $1.5 million renovation project that replaced its deteriorated roof, siding, and decking. The project also installed four new steel beams to support the bridge deck."
The bridge has unfortunately also been the victim of several automobile accidents in the last few years which have caused the bridge to be shut down and repaired.