Lairdsville Covered Bridge

About

Lairdsville Covered Bridge, also called the Moreland or Frazier Bridge, crosses Little Muncy Creek in Moreland Township, Lycoming County, southwest of Lairdsville and near Hughesville. It is a single-span Burr arch truss built in 1888, about 78 ft long. It sits at the end of a dirt road, and vehicles can drive across it.

History

The sources reviewed do not name the builder. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1980, as part of the Covered Bridges of Bradford, Sullivan and Lycoming Counties nomination. By 2010 it was in poor condition, and restoration began in April 2011. Lycoming Supply installed a new foundation, new flooring, new side boards and a metal roof, and placed a large rock to protect the eastern bank from erosion. The work was finished in December 2011 with about $1.3 million in state and federal funds. About two thirds of the structure had been replaced over time, and only the trusses are original.

Design

The Burr arch truss pairs timber arches with a multiple kingpost truss in a single span. The National Register gives the length as 77 ft 10 in and a 2010 county summary as 78 ft; Dale Travis gives 85 ft.

Visiting

From PA 118 southwest of Lairdsville, Dairy Farm Road leads to Covered Bridge Road and the bridge. Uncovering PA notes a fenced turnaround on the far side with room for several cars.

Sources: Lairdsville Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Historic covered bridge ends renovation with grant funding (Muncy Luminary), Visiting the covered bridges of Lycoming County (Uncovering PA)

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