About
Hayes Covered Bridge, also known as Union County Bridge No. 20, crosses Buffalo Creek on Hoover Road in West Buffalo Township, Union County, about half a mile from PA 45 west of Mifflinburg. It is a kingpost truss built in 1882 and painted barn red. The National Register gives a length of 63 ft, while the Daily Item and dalejtravis.com give 70 ft. The bridge is currently closed to traffic.
History
The bridge was built in 1882. Wikipedia records a repair in 1957, and a plaque on the bridge gives 1958 as its last restoration. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 8, 1980, as part of the Union County Covered Bridges group nomination. The Daily Item reported that the bridge had been rated structurally deficient and closed indefinitely. Union County commissioners hired Larson Design Group of Selinsgrove for $54,100 to handle engineering design, permitting, bid documents, construction administration and inspection, with the goal of repairing the bridge and reopening it to traffic.
Design
A kingpost truss is the simplest covered bridge truss: a vertical post at the center of each side, braced by two diagonals that run down to the ends of the span.
Visiting
From the junction of PA 45 and PA 104 in Mifflinburg, take PA 45 west about 1.9 miles, turn north onto Hoover Road and go about 0.6 mile. The bridge is on the west side of the road. It is closed to vehicles until the county repair is finished.
Sources: Hayes Bridge (Wikipedia), Historic bridge in West Buffalo Township to be repaired (Daily Item), Hayes 38-60-02 (dalejtravis.com)
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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