Jackson's Mill Covered Bridge, Breezewood Pennsylvania
This covered bridge contains a Burr arch truss and measures 91' x 15'. The wood siding extends up about 3' below the roof line, exposing the upper one-fifth of the arch truss. The bridge also contains a king post approach span on the north end of the bridge. Originally the bridge rested on stone piers and abutments; however, it was substantially reconstructed in 1992 and concrete piers with stone facing were added.
Builders of covered bridges are usually unrecorded, but Jackson's Mill bridge is known to have been built by Karns and Rohm in 1886, reportedly for $675. During the May 1889 flood it was dislodged and washed about 300 yards downstream towards M. J. Jackson's grist and saw mill. The bridge was repaired and set in place at its present site adjacent to Jackson's Mill. A short kingpost truss "grasshopper" or approach span was added at the new site to reach the north end of the bridge. In August 1991 the bridge was leaning severely and the grasshopper span was also in need of repair. It was closed to traffic about 1986.
In 1991 plans were developed for a pilot project to restore the bridge using funds allocated from the state's liquid fuel tax. The bridge was rehabilitated in the spring of 1992 with new steel girders supporting the superstructure new wood members installed in place of deteriorated ones. New concrete piers were faced with stone from the original piers. A steel arch encased in wood was placed at each approach to prevent oversized vehicles from damaging the bridge. It was reopened to traffic November 17, 1992. The Jackson's Mill bridge was the first of Bedford County's fourteen covered bridges to be reconstructed, others were scheduled for similar state funded projects.
