About
Zimmerman's Covered Bridge, officially Schuylkill County Bridge No. 114, crosses Lower Little Swatara Creek on Covered Bridge Road (T-526) in Washington Township, Schuylkill County, about two miles west of Rock Covered Bridge. It is a Burr arch truss with a single 65 ft span and no center pier. The Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office dates it to about 1880. Wikipedia gives about 1875 and a length of 50.6 ft. The bridge is owned by Schuylkill County and carries light vehicle traffic.
History
The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in January 1978 for its engineering significance as an intact Burr arch covered bridge. Earlier rehabilitations took place in 1997 and 2000, and the 2000 work added steel retrofits. When a new rehabilitation began in 2018, the timbers showed moderate to severe decay. The bridge was removed from its abutments and dismantled. About 60 percent of the trusses and roof system and all of the floor and siding were replaced. J.D. Eckman, Inc. repaired the truss beside the creek and reset it, the masonry abutments and wingwalls were repaired, and the 2000 steel retrofits were removed. The work, by Schuylkill County and PennDOT, was completed in November 2023.
Design
Multiple kingpost trusses on the upstream and downstream sides are paired with Burr arches. The bridge has wood siding, a cedar shingle roof, stone abutments, and clerestory openings below the eaves that let light inside. The exterior is painted red with white trim and the interior arches are painted white.
Visiting
The bridge is on Covered Bridge Road (T-526). The county decided it did not need to carry heavy loads, since other crossings of the creek are two to three minutes away.
Sources: From Fifty-One to Two (PA SHPO), Zimmerman's Covered Bridge (Larson Design Group), Schuylkill County Bridge No. 114 (Wikipedia)
Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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