About
Kennedy Covered Bridge crosses French Creek north of Kimberton in East Vincent Township, Chester County. It is a Burr arch truss bridge first built in 1856. Wikipedia and Dale J. Travis give its length as 96 feet, while coveredbridges.net lists a total length of 104 feet. It is open to vehicle traffic.
History
Wikipedia credits Alex Kennedy and Jesse King with building the bridge in 1856; the plaque on the bridge, as quoted by coveredbridges.net, names Len Kennedy and Jesse King. A flood damaged the bridge in 1884 and it was repaired. It was reinforced in 1936 and refurbished in 1979. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 21, 1974, as part of the Covered Bridges of Chester County group. Fire destroyed it on May 10, 1986. It was rebuilt in 1987 as a duplicate of the original, using bongossi, an African hardwood. Chester County owns and maintains the bridge.
Design
A Burr arch truss pairs a long timber arch with a multiple kingpost truss on each side of the bridge. Coveredbridges.net lists a largest span of 102 feet and a deck width of 12.5 feet for the present structure.
Visiting
The bridge carries Seven Stars Road (Township Route 522) north of Kimberton, off Pennsylvania Route 23. It is open to cars.
Sources: Kennedy Bridge (Wikipedia), Kennedy Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Kennedy Bridge (Dale J. Travis)
Photo: Smallbones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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