Trusal Covered Bridge

About

The Trusal Covered Bridge, also called Dice's Bridge, crosses the South Branch of Plum Creek on T-406, about 1.75 miles east of Five Points and west of Willet, in Washington Township, Indiana County. It is a Town lattice truss bridge built in 1870. Wikipedia and Uncovering PA give its length as 35 ft, while the Indiana County Parks brochure gives 41 ft. A modern bridge bypassed it in 1990, and it is open only to foot traffic.

History

The builder and cost are not known. The bridge is named for Robert Trusal, a nearby property owner and Civil War veteran, and its other name comes from Thomas Dice, who lived nearby. It is the oldest of Indiana County's four remaining covered bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 3, 1979, as part of the Covered Bridges of Indiana County group.

Design

The Town lattice truss uses a web of crossing planks fastened with wooden pins. Trusal's slanted entrances give it a trapezoid outline from the side, and its companion, Harmon's Covered Bridge, half a mile upstream, is nearly a mirror image.

Visiting

The bridge is in farmland north of Indiana, and Harmon's Covered Bridge is visible from it. Uncovering PA notes pull-off space beside the road.

Sources: Trusal Covered Bridge (Wikipedia), Trusal Covered Bridge (coveredbridges.net), Covered Bridges brochure (Indiana County Parks and Trails)

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