>> I'M IN BRACKEN COUNTY AT THE WALCOTT BRIDGE ALSO KNOWN AS THE WHITE BRIDGE.

IT WAS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED BACK IN 1824 AND REBUILT IN 1881.

IT WAS DAMAGED BY FLOODING IN 1997 AND 98, SO IN 2002, IT WAS MOVED HERE, 400 FEET EAST OF ITS ORIGINAL SITE.

THE BRIDGE'S 75 FOOT SPAN CROSSES LOCUST CREEK OF IT IS A PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE NOW BUT IN ITS HEYDAY IT HAS SEEN THE PASSING OF CARS AND TRUCKS, HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGES, WAGONS AND EVEN CIVIL WAR TROOPS.

>> HELLO, EVERYBODY, I'M DAVE SHUFFETT.

WELCOME TO "KENTUCKY LIFE."

OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, WE HAVE DISCOVERED HIDDEN TREASURES, AND EXPLORED KENTUCKY'S LAST GREAT PLACES.

OUR STATE IS RICH WITH HISTORY AND SCENIC WONDERS, AND I'M ALWAYS IN SEARCH OF WHAT CONNECTS US TO THIS BEAUTIFUL STATE.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I FOUND THAT CONNECTS PERSON TO PERSON, AND COMMUNITY TO COMMUNITY, IS A BRIDGE.

COVERED BRIDGES ARE PICTURESQUE, ROMANTIC, AND A BIT OF A MYSTERY.

WHY ARE THE BRIDGES COVERED?

SOME SAY TO PROVIDE SHELTER FOR TRAVELLERS.

OR WERE THEY GOOD PLACES TO STEAL A KISS?

OR CONVINCE HORSES THEY WERE IN A BARN RATHER THAN ON A BRIDGE OVER RUSHING WATERS.

THE FIRST COVERED BRIDGE IN AMERICA, WAS BUILT AROUND 1804.

BUT THE HISTORY OF COVERED BRIDGES GOES BACK WAY BEYOND THAT.

COVERED BRIDGES CAN BE DATED BACK 2,000 YEARS TO A TIME WHEN THEY WERE BEING BUILT IN CHINA.

AND EVEN EARLIER IN ANCIENT BABYLON.

SOME ESTIMATES HAVE COVERED BRIDGES DATING AS FAR BACK AS 780 BC.

COVER CANDIDATE BRIDGES STARTING APPEARING IN AMERICA IN THE EARLY 1800s.

AND AS IT TURNS OUT, ONE OF THE EARLIEST WAS BUILT RIGHT HERE IN KENTUCKY.

>> I WAS STILL TRYING TO FIND OUT HOW THE BRIDGES WERE CONSTRUCTED, AND WHY THEY WERE COVERED WHEN I RAN ACROSS A BOOK ON KENTUCKY'S COVERED BRIDGES.

SO I SAT DOWN TO TALK WITH ONE OF ITS AUTHOR, WALTER LOCKLAND.

>> WHAT DEFINE AS COVERED BRIDGE IS THE REASON FOR COVERING A BRIDGE.

IT HAS TO HAVE AN INTEGRATED TRUSS STRUCTURE THAT CARRIES BOTH THE WIDE AND THE DEAD LOAD OF THE BRIDGE.

THE LIVE LOAD BEING THE TRAFFIC, THE DEAD LOAD BEING THE WEIGHT OF THE BRIDGE.

AND INSTEAD OF IT BEING CARRIED FROM UNDERNEATH BY STRINGERS, IT IS CARRIED BY THE TRUSSES.

THE COVERING IS PUT ON SPECIFICALLY TO PROTECT THE TRUSSES, AND UNCOVERED WOOD TRUSS BECAUSE OF RAIN AND SNOW AND THE HEAT OF SUMMER, AND THE FACT THAT WOOD WILL EXPAND AND CONTRACT, THE JOINTS WILL OPEN UP, AN UNCOVERED WOODEN BRIDGE LEFT TO THAT WILL LAST MAYBE AN AVERAGE OF 15 TO 20 YEAR.

PUT A ROOF AND SIDING ON IT AND YOU HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLED THE USEFUL LIFE OF THE BRIDGE BECAUSE YOU HAVE PROTECTED THOSE JOINTS AND THOSE TIMBERS.

FROM GETTING WET AND ROTTING AND OPENING UP.

THE PERMANENT BRIDGE, IT OPENED IN I BELIEVE FEBRUARY OF 1805.

IT WAS DESIGNEDBE AGENTLEMAN NAMED TIMOTHY PALMER AND THAT IS GENERALLY RECOGNIZED AS THE FIRST COVERED BRIDGE IN THE UNITED STATES.

FIRST BRIDGE IN KENTUCKY AS FAR AS ANYONE KNOWS WAS THE NEWPORT BARRACKS BRIDGE BETWEEN NEWPORT AND COVINGTON AT THE MOUTH OF THE LICKING RIVER.

IT WAS BUILT BECAUSE OF THE LOCATION OF THE NEWPORT BARRACKS WHICH WAS THE MILITARY POST THAT WAS REPLACED I BELIEVE IN THE 1880s BY FORT THOMAS.

I KNOW THAT THE NEWPORT BARRACKS WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1804 AND THAT THE BRIDGE CAME VERY SOON AFTER THAT.

IT IS THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE THAT BRIDGE COULD HAVE PROCEEDED THE PERMANENT BRIDGE.

PRECEDED THE PERMANENT BRIDGE BUT WHETHER IT DID OR NOT, IT WAS CERTAINLY AMONG THE FIRSTHANDFUL OF COVERED BRIDGES IN THE UNITED STATES.

>> WE HAVE GODDARD AND THE MILLS AND A LOT OF PEOPLE CALL THE GRANGE CITY BRIDGE THE HILLS BORROW BRIDGE BUT IF YOU GO TO GRANGE CITY YOU BETTER NOT SAY IT THAT WAY.

IT IS DEFINITELY THE GRANGE CITY BRIDGE.

THE COVERED BRIDGES PARTICULARLY IN OUR AREA WERE A BIG PART OF THE COMMUNITY.

THEY WERE USED NOT JUST TO GET FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER, THEY WERE USED FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

LOTS OF KIDS PLAY ON THOSE BRIDGES.

THEY WERE USED TO GET FROM THE STORE TO THE SCHOOL, THEY WERE USED AS FAR AS ACCESSIBILITY TO OTHER AREAS THAT WERE SORT OF REMOTE.

THEY WERE USED TO IDENTIFY THE COMMUNITIES.

I KNOW AT GRANGE CITY THERE USED TO BE SOME LOCAL PEOPLE WHO TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT THAT WAS WHERE BAPTISMS WERE HELD.

I KNOW AT GODDARD AT ONE TIME WE HAD BAPTISMS IN THE CREEK.

IT ALSO DEFINED THE COMMUNITY.

PEOPLE KNEW WHERE GODDARD WAS BECAUSE OF THE BRIDGE.

PEOPLE KNOW WHERE GRANGE CITY IS.

GRANGE CITY IS IS A VERY SMALL COMMUNITY.

THE SAME WITH RIP RINGOS MILLS.

THERE USED TO BE A MILL THERE.

THERE WAS A CARTING FACTORY TOO.

I THINK THE MILL WAS ON ONE FLOOR, AND THE CARTING FACTORY WAS ON THE OTHER AND PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTIES WOULD ACTUALLY BRING THEIR WOOL TO RINGOS TO HAVE IT CARTED.

SO IT IS VERY IMPORTANT.

IN FACT, MOST OF OUR BRIDGES WERE, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A MEAL PROBABLY CLOSE BY, A MILL PROBABLY CLOSE BY.

♪ >> THE GODDARD BRIDGE IS THE ONLY DESIGN IN KENTUCKY AND ONE OF THE FEW IN THE NATION.

WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE WHO BUILT THE GODDARD BRIDGE.

THERE ARE SEVERAL THEORIES BUT IT HAS NEVER BEEN DOCUMENTED.

>> THE TOWN'S DESIGN WAS SOMETHING RADICALLY DIFFERENT, AND WAS INHERENTLY STRONG.

WHAT THE TOWN DID IS FIGURED OUT A WAY OF AGAIN USING A SERIES OF TRIANGLES, BUT THEY WERE JUST LIKE THE LATTIS ON A PORCH.

AND THEY WERE CONNECTED WITH, IT IS SPELLED TREE NAILS BUT IT IS CALLED TRUNAILS, THEY WERE WOOD PINS THAT CONNECTED THE INTERSECTION POINTS, AND 100 FOOT A TYPICAL TOWN LATTIS TRUSS 100 FEET WOULD HAVE ABOUT 5600 OF THOSE PINS AND EACH OF THOSE PINS IN TURN BEARING THE WEIGHT OF THE STRESSES OF THE BRIDGE.

THEY SAID YOU CAN BUILD A TOWN LATTIS BY THE MILE AND CUT IT OFF BY THE FOOT.

÷█ ALL 13 REMAINING COVERED BRIDGES ARE ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.

THERE IS A MAP ON THE INTERNET OF HOW TO GET TO EACH OF THE 13 COVERED BRIDGES.

THE WEBSITE HAS TWO-DAY DRIVING TOURS THAT TAKES YOU FROM BRIDGE TO BRIDGE.

THE GPS LOCATIONS ARE GIVEN.

SO IF YOU HAVE YOUR GPS LOCATOR, YOU CAN FIND THEM EASILY.

ON THE INTERNET THEY'LL TELL YOU THE DOVER BRIDGE IS JUST OUTSIDE OF MAYSVILLE.

THE CABIN CREEK BRIDGE IS IN LEWIS COUNTY AND IT WILL GIVE YOU THE ROAD NUMBERS.

SO IT IS AN EASY WAY TO FIND THE BRIDGES.

IT IS NOT DIFFICULT AT ALL.

@█ú█@ @ç█ ♪ I THINK IN THE EARLIEST DAYS, THEY WERE BUILT BY PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS AS TOLL BRIDGES, AT BUSY CROSSINGS.

THEY WERE BUILT BY MILLERS, PARMALY BENNETT BUILT A BRIDGE TO BRING CUSTOMERS TO THEIR MILL.

SO THERE WAS AN ECONOMIC ADVANTAGE FOR BUSINESSMEN TO FUND THESE.

I THINK VERY FEW WERE DONE BY THE STATE BECAUSE THE STATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM IN KENTUCKY, AS AN ENTITY, DIDN'T COME INTO EFFECT UNTIL I THINK ABOUT 1910, 1912, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

BUT I THINK MOST OF THEM PROBABLY WERE BUILT BY THE COUNTY FISCAL COURTS.

>> YOU KNOW WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THESE BRIDGES IS THAT YOU CAN COME INSIDE AND GET AN UP CLOSE LOOK AND FEEL OF HOW THEY WERE MADE.

THIS ONE IS UNIQUE.

IT IS A WHEELER TRUSS DESIGN AND THE LAST STANDING EXAMPLE OF THAT IN THE UNITED STATES.

ALSO IT IS A TESTAMENT TO THE WORK ETHIC AND CRAFTSMANSHIP OF FOLKS IN THE 19TH CENTURY.

>> THERE WAS NOTHING ROMANTIC ABOUT THE CONSTRUCTION OF THEM.

THESE WERE BUILT THROUGH HARD BACK BREAKING LABOR.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT'S SPECIALLY IN THE EARLY DAYS, THE EARLY 1800s UP REALLY UNTIL ABOUT 1830, ALL OF THE WORK WAS DONE BY HAND.

IT WAS DONE WITH BROAD AXE AND THEY WOULD BY HAPPENED SHAPE THESE TIMBERS.

AND BY HAND, BUILT THE JOINTS THAT CONNECTED THEM SO I MEAN, IT REALLY MUCH OF IT HAD TO BE ON THE LEVEL OF FINE CABINETRY.

ONCE YOU GOT TO WHERE THE BRIDGE WAS FAR ENOUGH ALONG THAT YOU COULD PUT IN THE FLOOR TIMBERS AND THE ROOF AND THE SIDING, LESS SKILLED CARPENTERS COULD DO THAT.

BUT IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRED STONE MASONS TO BUILD THE ABUTTMENTS SO IT REQUIRED A GREAT DEAL OF HAND WORK AND EVEN AFTER STEAM POWERED AND WATERPOWERRED SAWS CAME INTO USE, IT STILL REQUIRED A GREAT DEAL OF SKILL AND A GREAT DEAL OF TIME.

THERE WERE ONLY THREE BRIDGES ACROSS THE KENTUCKY RIVER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CIVIL WAR.

THERE WAS CAMP NELSON, ST.

CHAIR STREET IN FRANKFORT AND THERE WAS THE RAILROAD BRIDGE AT FRANKFORT.

THERE IS ACTUALLY A MYTH ABOUT THE CAMP NELSON BRIDGE THAT I THINK, AND EVEN TODAY, I HAVE SEEN REFERENCE TO THIS, THAT I THINK TIES BACK TO THE CIVIL WAR.

IT WAS A VERY STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT BRIDGE.

THIS STORY HAS ALWAYS HUNG AROUND THAT WHEN THE CAMP NELSON BRIDGE WAS BUILT, IT WAS BUILT IN SUCH A WAY THAT THERE WAS ONE SPECIFIC BOLT IN THE BRIDGE THAT IF YOU REMOVED IT, IT WOULD CAUSE THE BRIDGE TO COLLAPSE SO THAT IT WOULDN'T FALL INTO ENEMY HAPPENEDS.

WELL, THAT IN AND OF ITSELF WOULD BE A TREMENDOUS ENGINEERING FEAT.

AND CONSIDERING THE FACT THAT IT WAS BUILT IN 1838, THERE SIMPLY WOULD HAVE BEEN NO REASON TO EVEN CONSIDER SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

SO I'M SURE THAT WAS DESIGNED TO -- TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM TRYING TO TAKE THAT BRIDGE.

BUT IT WAS ONLY CALLED CAMP NELSON REALLY AFTER THE WAR.

ITS ORIGINAL NAME WAS THE HICKMAN BRIDGE BECAUSE IT WAS NEAR THE MOUTH OF LICKMAN HICKMAN CREEK BUT IT WAS STRATEGICALLY IMPORTANT BRIDGE.

SIDING WAS REMOVED AND AS I UNDERSTAND IT GUNMEN WERE REGULARLY POSTED IN THE BRIDGE SO IF ANYONE TRIED TO COME UP OR DOWN THE RIVER, THEY HAD AN ADVANTAGE ON THEM.

THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT BY A GENTLEMAN CONSIDERED THE GREATEST OF ALL THE COVERED BRIDGE BUILDER.

HIS BRIDGES WERE MATHEMATICALLY TUNED.

CAMP NELSON WAS A DOUBLE BARRELED BRIDGE WHICH IS A TWO-LANE BRIDGE DIVIDEEDBE ATTEND CENTER TRUSS.

DID IT SURVIVE THE CIVIL WAR AND IT SURVIVED INTO THE 1930s.

>> THE SHERBURN COVERED BRIM -- BRIDGE WAS THE TRUSS DESIGN AND IT WAS BUILT AROUND 1867.

IT WAS BELIEVED THAT ISAAC CARKER IS THE BUILDER.

BECAUSE OF THE AMOUNT OF TRAFFIC BETWEEN THE COUNTIES, IN THE 1950s, THEY HAD TO GO IN AND STRENGTHEN THE BOTTOM PART OF IT.

I BELIEVE THEY PROBABLY PUT STEAL BEAMS ACROSS THE ENDS OF IT.

AND IN THE END, THEY ADD SUSPENSION CABLES TO THE SIDES AND FOR A LONG TIME, SHERBURN WAS KNOWN AS THE SUSPENSION COVERED BRIDGE WHICH THAT IS NOT RIGHT, BUT, THAT WAS USED TO TRY TO REINFORCE THE BRIDGE AND MAKE IT STRONGER.

IT WAS CLOSED IN 17978 WHEN A CONCRETE BRIDGE WAS BUILT.

AND THEN IT BURNED IN 1981.

THE OTHER BRIDGES, WE HAD A BRIDGE AT PAUPER PLAINS, A BRIDGE BETWEEN HILL TOP, WE HAD A BRIDGE, ONE AT FOX PORT, AND OF COURSE, AS PEOPLE WENT THERE, THEY WANT THEIR HIGHWAYS, A LOT OF THOSE BRIDGES WERE DEMOLISHED BECAUSE NEW CONCRETE BRIDGES WERE PUT IN INSTEAD.

THE ONES THAT WE HAVE LEFT, YOU KNOW, JUST GOOD LUCK I GUESS THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY STILL HAVE THEM.

>> THEY BECAME JUST RAM SHACKLE RICKETY STRUCTURES IN MANY LOCATIONS BECAUSE THE COUNTIES DIDN'T HAVE FUNDING FOR THEM BECAUSE THE STATE DIDN'T WANT TO PUT THE MONEY INTO THEM.

THEY WERE THERE TO BUILD NEW STRUCTURES.

A NUMBER OF THEM WERE DESTROYED BY ARSON.

THE COUNTIES DIDN'T HAVE MONEY TO REPLACE THE BRIDGE OR REPAIR THE BRIDGE.

THE STATE AT THAT TIME, WOULD CERTAINLY ASSIST THEM, BUT, ONLY IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW BRIDGE.

AND FEDERAL MONIES WEREN'T INVOLVED UNLESS THEY HAD TO REPLACE IT.

SO SOMEONE WOULD GO OUT AND POUR GASOLINE ON A BRIDGE AT MIDNIGHT, LIGHT A MATCH, 8 MONTHS LATER COMMUNITY HAS A NEW BRIDGE.

DETERMINED THERE WERE AT LEAST 800 COVERED BRIDGES IN KENTUCKY.

AND PROBABLY STILL ABOUT 400 STANDING IN 1925.

AND 43 IN 1952.

SO AT ONE POINT THEY WERE COMING DOWN AT A RATE OF ABOUT 4 A MONTH.

♪ THESE COVERED BRIDGES ARE BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLES OF AMERICA'S PAST.

AND EACH ONE IS DIFFERENT, AND A MARVEL OF ENGINEERING.

YOU COULD WALK THROUGH THEM AND TRY TO IMAGINE HOW THEY ARE BUILT.

THIS ONE, THE WALCOTT BRIDGE IS A KING AND QUEEN TRUSS DIFNL I HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT MEANT AND I WANTED TO FIND OUT MORE SO WE DID A LITTLE RESEARCH.

I STARTED MY SEARCH ON THE INTERNET.

WHICH CAN BE A WEALTH OF INFORMATION.

THE HOWE TRUSS, THE SMITH TRUSS, THE ARCH TRUSS, IT TURNS OUT THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS TO CONSTRUCT A COVERED BRIDGE.

IT WAS A BIT OF AN INFORMATION OVERLOAD.

I DID DISCOVER THAT THE 13 REMAINING BRIDGES IN KENTUCKY SHOW US GREAT EXAMPLES OF MANY DIFFERENT TYPES OF TRUSSES SO WHEN I TALKED WITH AUTHOR WALTER LOCKMAN, I ASKED HIM TO CLARIFY THINGS A BIT.

>> WELL, A TRUSS IS ESSENTIALLY A SERIES OF TRIANGLES.

IF YOU REMEMBER, FROM GEOMETRY, A TRIANGLE CAN'T CHANGE ITS SHAPE UNLESS YOU DEFORM ONE OF THE LEGS.

SO, IT IS A VERY STRONG STABLE STRUCTURE.

SAME THING IN BRIDGE CONSTRUCTION.

IF YOU USE A TRIANGLE, AS LONG AS YOU HAVEN'T ACTUALLY DESTROYED ONE OF THE LEGS, THEN ALL OF THE LOAD FORCES ARE GOING TO BE CARRIED EQUALLY AND VERY WELL BY EACH LEG AND EACH ANGLE.

THEY ACT IN TENSION, WHICH IS PULLING, AND THEY ACT IN COMPRESSION AND WOOD IS ACTUALLY STRONGER WHEN IT IS COMPRESSED.

>> KING POST IS A VERY SIMPLE TRUSS.

PROBABLY THE EARLIEST TRUSS TYPE.

IT IS LITERALLY A POST IN THE CENTER OF THE SPAN, AND TWO COMPRESSION TIMBERS THAT RADIATE FROM THE TOP TO THE BEARING POINTS OF THE ABUTTMENTS.

IT IS SIMPLY TWO RIGHT TRY TRIAS SET SIDE BY SIDE.

>> QUIETLY NESTLE DOWN A PRIVAT█ DRIVEWAY, STANDS THE VALLEY PIKE COVERED BRIDGE.

EVEN FROM THE ROAD, IT IS EASY TO SEE THE SINGLE KING POST DESIGN AND GET A FEELING FOR HOW THIS BRIDGE IS BUILT.

THE BRIDGE IS 15 FEET WIDE, 14 FEET HIGH AND ONLY 25 FEET LONG.

IT IS THE SHORTEST KNOWN COVERED BRIDGE TO HAVE EXISTED IN KENTUCKY.

THE VALLEY PIKE COVERED BRIDGE IS NEAR THE COMMUNITY OF WASHINGTON AND MAISON COUNSEL COUNTY.

IT IS THE ONLY PRIVATELY OWNED COVERED BRIDGE REMAINING IN THE STATE.

THE BRIDGE HAS PROVIDED ACCESS TO THE BOLDEN FAMILY FARM, CROSSING OVER LEE'S CREEK SINCE 1864.

EVEN THOUGH THE BRIDGE HAD BEEN IN USE FOR OVER 100 YEARS, IT WAS NOT DISCOVERED BY THE KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF TRAS TRANSPORTATION UNTIL 1975.

IT WAS NEVER LIFTED BEFORE THAT TIME.

ITITS DISCOVERY INCREASED THE NUMBER OF COVERED BRIDGES IN KENTUCKY EVEN THOUGH NO NEW BRIDGE HAD BEEN BUILT.

YOU CAN VISIT THE VALLEY PIKE COVERED BRIDGE BY TRAVELING EAST OF FERN LEAF, PAST THE INTERSECTION OF KENTUCKY 10 AND KENTUCKY 9.

THEN TURN ON TO KENTUCKY 3056 WHICH WILL TAKE YOU TO VALLEY PIKE.

THE BRIDGE CAN BE SEEN FROM THE ROAD AFTER ONE AND A HALF MILES.

MULTIPLE KING POST IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME THING, BUT INSTEAD OF HAVING JUST A SINGLE VERTICAL POST IN THE CENTER, YOU HAVE A SERIES OF VERTICAL POSTS FROM END TO END, AND THEN YOU HAVE A COMPRESSION TIMBER ANGLING AWAY FROM EACH OF THOSE, SOMETIMES IN TWO DIRECTIONS.

AND THEY JUST SIMPLY ACT AS THE KING POST BUT, OVER MULTIPLE DISTANCES.

QUEEN POST IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE KING POST EXEMPT THE RIGHT TRIANGLES ARE DIVIDED BY A RECTANGLE SO IT IS SIMPLY ALLOWS ITS, INSTEAD OF A SINGLE KING POST, IT IS A POST AND A POST.

AND, IT ALLOWS YOU TO COVER A GREATER EXPANSE.

>> IN NORTHWESTERN MASON COUNTY THE DOVER COVERED BRIDGE CARRIES KENTUCKY 3113 ACROSS LEES CREEK AT DOVER.

BUILT IN 1835, IT IS ONE OF THE OLDEST REMAINING COVERED BRIDGES IN THE STATE.

THE DOVER BRIDGE IS 61 FEET LONG, AND BUILT USING A DOUBLE SET OF QUEEN POST TRUSSES ON EACH SIDE.

THE ENGINEERING AND CRAFTSMANSHIP NEEDED TO BUILD THERE'S BRIDGES AMAZES ME.

ORIGINALLY BUILT AS A TOLL BRIDGE, TODAY THIS BRIDGE IS STILL OPEN TO TRAFFIC.

THE BRIDGE WAS REINFORCED BY THE ADDITION OF IRON BEAMS TO HELP SECURE THE BRIDGE, AND MAKE IT SAFE FOR MODERN TRAFFIC.

TO REACH THE BRIDGE FROM THE COMMUNITY OF DOVER, TURN OFF ON STATE ROUTE 8 ON TO STATE ROUTE 3313 KNOWN AS LEES CREEK ROAD.

THE BRIDGE IS ABOUT A TENTH OF A MILE FROM THE TURNOFF.

THE TRUSS IS A SERIES OF BRACES AND COUNTER BRACES THAT FORM AN X IN EACH PANEL.

BUT, WHEREAS THE KING POST IF YOU WILL OR THE TENSION MEMBER OF TRUSSES PRIOR TO THAT WERE CONSTRUCTED WOOD, AND WERE AT EACH OF THE CHORD, MILL RIGHT FROM SPENCER, MASSACHUSETTS, NAMED WILLIAM HOWE REPLACED THE TENSION MEMBERS WITH IRON RODS THAT IN THE EARLY VERSIONS HAD NUTS TOP AND BOTTOM.

AND IN LATER ONES HAD TURN BUCKLES.

AND WHAT THAT DID IS SIT-COM PEN SAITED FOR THE TENDENCY OF WOOD TO PULL APART.

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE TRUSS IS WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT THE MILL BRIDGE IN THAT IT IS THE ONLY ONE LEFT.

IT WAS PATENTED IN 1870 BY A GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF ISAAC WHEELER ORIGINALLY FROM OHIO.

IT DOES HAVE A SECONDARY CORD.

NOW, THE CORD IS THE LONGITUDEAL TOP AND BOTTOM OF THE TRUST.

IT INTRODUCED A SECONDARY CHORD IN MIDDLE OF THE TRUSS LONGITUDE ALLY WHICH SIMPLY INCREASED THE STRENGTH OF THE BRIDGE.

AND ALTHOUGH AT THAT TIME, THE COVERED BRIDGE WAS STILL THE DOMINANT TYPE OF TURNPIKE AND HIGHWAY AND ROADWAY BRIDGE BEING BUILT, IN THE UNITED STATES, WITHIN TEN OR 20 YEARS, IT NO LONGER WAS.

0 V @@PP@@@@@(@ 0$A█ CROSSING THE TYGART CREEK IN NORTHERN GREENUP COUNTY THIS 155 FOOT SINGLE SPAN IS ONE OF THE LONGEST COVERED BRIDGES IN THE STATE.

ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED AROUND 1855, BY BF BEN THREAT AND HIS BROTHER, THE -- BENNETT AND HIS BROTHER THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT TO PROVIDE CUSTOMERS ACCESS TO THE MILL.

PRIOR TO THE BUILDING OF THE MILL, THE BENNETT'S OPERATED THE GLOBE FURNACE NEARBY.

WHEN THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT, STONES FROM THE FURNACE WERE USED TO BUILD THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE BRIDGE.

UNION TROOPS WERE STATIONED HERE TO GUARD THIS BRIDGE AND KEEP OPEN SUPPLY LINES DURING THE CIVIL WAR.

THE BENNETT'S MILL BRIDGE IS THE ONLY KNOWN EXAMPLE OF A WHEELER TRUSS BRIDGE STANDING IN THE UNITED STATES.

IT IS LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES, AND REMAINS OPEN TO TRAFFIC TODAY.

IN 2004, THE BENNETTS MILL BRIDGE WAS REBUILT USING SOME OF THE ORIGINAL TIMBERS AND WOOD.

THE BRIDGE IS LOCATED ON THE EAST SIDE OF STATE ROUTE 7 JUST UNDER A MILE NORTH OF WHERE IT INTERSECTS STATE ROUTE 10.

>> WE QUO WOULD JUST BE LOST WITHOUT OUR COVERED BRIDGE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH A PART OF OUR LIVES AND SO MUCH OF OUR HISTORY.

YOU KNOW, I THINK ABOUT INDIANA, VERMONT, ALL OF THESE OTHER PLACES THAT HAVE MANY, MANY BRIDGES AND WE ONLY HAVE 13.

THE ONES THAT WE HAVE LEFT, YOU KNOW, JUST GOOD LUCK I GUESS÷█ THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY STILL HAVE THEM.

>> YOU CAN'T WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE GONE AND THEN REACT.

YOU HAVE TO WORK NOW TO PRESERVú THEM AND SAVE THESE HISTORIC STRUCTURES.

>> FROM WHAT WE CAN TELL, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE TIMBER FROM WALCOTT WAS REPLACED.

IN FACT MAYBE JUST A COUPLE OF PIECES THAT YOU COULD ACTUALLY SEE THAT WAS FROM THE ORIGINAL BRIDGE.

THE JOHNSON CREEK BRIDGE THAT WAS JUST COMPLETED IN ROBBERSON COUNTY THEY TRIED TO KEEP AS MUCH OF THE OLD TIMBER AS POSSIBLE.

RIGHT THEY ARE TRYING TO WORK ON THE BRIDGE IN LEWIS COUNTY.

>> CABIN CREEK IS NOW PROBABLY IN THE WORST CONDITION OF ANY COVERED BRIDGE IN KENTUCKY, AND IT WAS VERY BADLY DAMAGED LAST YEAR IN THE SPRING FLOODS.

IT IS ALMOST A FLUKE THAT IT IS STILL STANDING.

IT HAD A STRUCTURAL STEAL BUTRESS INSTALLED UNDER IT 35 YEARS AGO AND WHEN THE WATER CAME RUSHING DOWN CABIN CREEK, IT HIT THAT AND KNOCKED IT OUT ALMOST COMPLETELY, SPUN IT AROUND UNDER THE BRIDGE, AND IT JUST MANAGED TO HANG ON ITS PIER AND UNDER THE BRIDGE.

IF IT HAD MOVED ANOTHER FOOT, THE BRIDGE WOULD HAVE COLLAPSED.

IT WAS BUILT 1874-1877 I HAVE HEARD CONFLICTS DATES.

IT WAS BUILT BY JACOB BAUER WHO WAS THE GRANDFATHER OF STOCK BAUER.

CLOSED TO TRAFFIC IN 1983.

AND IT IS SLATED FOR RESTORATION NEXT YEAR.

TYPICALLY WHAT YOU WOULD DO IN REBUILDING AND RENOVATING AND RESTORING A BRIDGE, YOU WOULD BUILD FALSE WORK UNDERNEATH THE BRIDGE.

AND SUPPORT THE BRIDGE THROUGH BLOCKS ATTACHED TO THAT FALSE WORK SO YOU WOULD SUPPORT IT FROM UNDERNEATH.

PART OF THE PROBLEM WITH THAT IS, FLOODS CAN TAKE IT OUT AND IF YOU'RE IN A BAD PLACE WITH THE BRIDGE, THE BRIDGE GOES WITH IT.

THIS TRUSS GOES THROUGH THE PORTAL OF THE BRIDGE, AND SUPPORTED ON THE BRIDGE APPROACHES, AND CARRIES THE LOAD OF THE BRIDGE.

THEY ATTACH THE BRIDGE TO THE TRUSS, FROM UNDERNEATH THE CHORDS AND PULL IT UP SO UNLESS YOU GET AN EXCEEDINGLY HIGH FLOOD, WHICH WOULD HAVE TAKEN OUT THE BRIDGE ANY?

WAY THERE THE NO DANGER OF IT WASHING THAT OUT.

THERE IS VERY LITTLE DANGER OF THAT BRIDGE COLLAPSING BECAUSE THAT TRUSS IS SUPPORTING AND IT SHOULD CARRY IT UNTIL THE RESTORATION IS COMPLETE.

IT IS JUST SIMPLY WAITING TO CROSS THE Is AND DOT THE Ts.

AND ONCE ALL OF THAT FALLS INTO PLACE IN THE CONSTRUCTION STARTS, YOU'RE TILL PROBABLY LOOKING AT A TWO-YEAR PROCESS TO RESTORE THE BRIDGE.

>> THE OLD TOWN COVERED BRIDGE IS LOCATED IN RURAL GREENUP COUNTY SOUTH OF OLD TOWN, KENTUCKY.

IT CROSSES THE LITTLE SANDY RIVER, WHICH FLOWS INTO NEARBY OHIO.

THE 187 FOOT SPAN WAS COMPLETED IN 1880 AT A REPORTED COST OF $4,000.

THE BRIDGE IS BUILT ON A DOUBLE POST AND BRACE DESIGN PATENTED BY THEODORE BIRD.

SO IT WITHSTOOD THE FLOODS OF 1913 AND 1937 AND SAW RESTORATION IN THE EARLY '70s.

SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THIS BRIDGE WAS PLACED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES.

CLOSED TO ALL THE FOOT TRAFFIC IN 1986 IT WAS REBUILT IN 1999 TO ITS CURRENT STATE.

THE BRIDGE CAN BE REACHED BY DRIVING STATE ROUTE 1 TO STATE ROUTE 3111, FRASER BRIDGE ROAD.

THE BRIDGE IS ABOUT TWO TENTHS OF A MILE FROM THE TURNOFF.

>> NOT ONLY STRUCTURALLY BUT VISUALLY, THEY ARE UNIQUE.

YOU KNOW, THE SWEITZER BRIDGE IN BENNETTS MILL WITH THEIR SAW TOOTH PORTALS, YOU HAVE THE PORTALS AGAIN PAINTED GREEN AND WHITE.

YOU HAVE JOHNSON CREEK, WITH ITS VERY FLAT LOW PITCH ROOF.

BUT, IN KENTUCKY, YOU HAVE A TOWN LATTISS, A SMITH-TOWN TRUSS, YOU HAVE SEVERAL VARIETIES OF MULTIPLE KING POSTS.

YOU HAVE A MODIFIED QUEEN POST, A HOWE TRUSS, YOU HAVE AN ARCH AND YOU HAVE A GENUINE SINGLE KING POST BRIDGE.

SO IF YOU CONSIDER THE KING POST AS REALLY BEING THE PROGENATOR OF TRUSSES AND THEN YOU HAVE THE HOWE TRUSS THE LAST SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENT IN TRUSS DESIGN, THAT REALLY CAUGHT HOLD AND CHANGED THE FACE OF HOW TO BUILD A BRIDGE, SO YOU REALLY HAVE THE BEGINNING TO THE END.

YOU REALLY SORT OF SEE A TIME██ LINE OF BRIDGE BUILDING BY TRAVELING THE COVERED BRIDGES OF KENTUCKY.

KENTUCKY REALLY MISSED SOME OPPORTUNITIES IN THE BRIDGES THAT IT DIDN'T PRESERVE.

I MEAN, WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT JUST PRIOR TO THE SECOND WORLD WAR, THERE WERE PROBABLY 125 COVERED BRIDGES STANDING IN KENTUCKY.

TEN YEARS LATER THERE WERE 43 TEN YEARS LATER THERE WERE 20.

TEN YEARS LATER, THERE WERE 17.

NOW, THERE ARE 13.

I THINK IT IS FORTUNATE THAT THESE 13 HAVE A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE OF SURVIVAL.

>> ♪ WITH YOUR SUPPORT "KENTUCKY LIFE "WILL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THE PEOPLE, PLACES AND STORIES THAT MAKE KENTUCKY A GREAT STATE.

WE'LL LEAVE YOU NOW WITH A LOOK AT ONE MORE COVERED BRIDGE.

THE RINGOS COVER BRIDGE IS IN SOUTHERN FLEMING COUNTY.

IT WAS BUILT IN 1867, AND RESTORED IN 1984.

IT IS 81-FOOT LONG SPAN CROSSES FOX CREEK AND IT IS A DOUBLE POST AND BRACE DESIGN.

WELL, IT LOOK LIKE WE'RE OUT OF TIME.

THANKS FOR WATCHING, AND WE'LL SEE YOU ON THE NEXT "KENTUCKY LIFE."

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