Keefer Station Covered Bridge

About

Keefer Station Covered Bridge crosses Shamokin Creek in Upper Augusta Township, Northumberland County, east of Sunbury. It is a single-span Burr arch truss bridge built in 1888 and about 109 feet long overall. It remains open to vehicle traffic.

History

George W. Keefer built the bridge in 1888 near the farm of John G. Bright, at a total cost of $882, according to the National Register nomination for the Covered Bridges of Northumberland County. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as part of that group. After the bridge was damaged by flooding, Northumberland County had it rehabilitated with county and FEMA funding. Stahl Sheaffer Engineering designed the work, which included in-kind replacement of structural timbers, decking and siding, and repairs to the concrete abutments.

Design

A Burr arch truss pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss on each side of the bridge. The nomination describes Keefer Station as a multiple kingpost design with a double Burr arch, with a clear span of 93 feet 6 inches between stone masonry abutments and a total length of 109 feet. Other sources measure it differently: Stahl Sheaffer gives 94 feet 9 inches, close to the clear span.

Visiting

The bridge is on Township Road 698 east of Sunbury and is open to cars. Uncovering PA notes several places to pull off the road near the bridge.

Sources: Covered Bridges of Northumberland County NRHP nomination, Keefer Station and Rishel Covered Bridges (Stahl Sheaffer Engineering), Visiting the Covered Bridges of Northumberland County (Uncovering PA)

Photo: Ruhrfisch, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.