Bells Mills Covered Bridge

About

Bells Mills Covered Bridge carries Bells Mills Road (State Route 3061) over Sewickley Creek between Sewickley Township and South Huntingdon Township in Westmoreland County, west of Yukon. It is a Burr truss bridge 95 ft long, built in 1850, and it is the only covered bridge in Westmoreland County. It is owned by the county and still carries vehicle traffic.

History

Daniel McCain, an architect and builder, built the bridge in 1850. For the 1976 bicentennial the Historical Society of Westmoreland County restored it, put on a new roof and repainted it from light gray to barn red. In 1988 the county rebuilt it completely: the bridge was lifted off its supports, cracked and rotten beams were replaced, two piers received new stones, a concrete pad was poured at one abutment, and new siding and a shingle roof replaced a metal roof that had proved too heavy. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 27, 1980, and was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey as HABS PA-415. In September 2022 a vehicle struck the bridge and left the scene, and the road was closed at the bridge because of the damage.

Design

A Burr truss pairs a long timber arch on each side with a multiple kingpost truss. Bells Mills has Greek Revival portals with pedimented gables and plain pilasters, a cedar shake roof, and stone and mortar abutments reinforced with concrete.

Visiting

The bridge is on Bells Mills Road (SR 3061) and is open to vehicles. In 2012 it was posted with a 4-ton weight limit and a 6 ft 6 in height limit. County road crews maintain it.

Sources: Bells Mills Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Sewickley Township span one of county's best-known landmarks (TribLIVE), Bells Mills Road closed after vehicle strikes covered bridge (TribLIVE)

Photo: Matthew Newberg, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.