Ashland Covered Bridge

Ashland Covered Bridge, also known as Ashland Bridge or Barley Mill Road Covered Bridge, is a covered bridge over Red Clay Creek on Barley Mill Road (near the junction of Brackenville Road) in Ashland in New Castle County, Delaware. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1]

Ashland Bridge
Bridge in 1982
Ashland Covered Bridge is located in Delaware
Ashland Covered Bridge
Ashland Covered Bridge is located in the United States
Ashland Covered Bridge
LocationSouth of Ashland over Red Clay Creek, Ashland, Delaware
Coordinates39°47′54″N 75°39′28″W / 39.798275°N 75.657883°W / 39.798275; -75.657883
Builtc. 1860
Architectural styleCovered bridge
NRHP reference No.73000506[1]
Added to NRHPMarch 20, 1973

Style

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It is a Town lattice truss bridge following a design of Ithiel Town,[2] built about 1860. It is almost identical to the Wooddale Bridge.[1][3] It is believed to be about 12 feet (3.7 meters) long and adjoins the Ashland Nature Center.[4]

History

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Interior lattice work

In 1965, when it was documented in the Historic American Engineering Record survey, it was one of the last three surviving covered bridges in the state of Delaware.[2]

The bridge has been closed for repairs several times in the 2010s. In 2014 and 2011, oversized trucks caused damage to the bridge after ignoring signage and attempting to cross, and in 2017 a snow plow crash caused additional damage.[5] In 2021, it was closed for temporary repairs after debris and high creek levels due to Hurricane Ida caused damage to the covered portion of the span.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. ^ a b Bassett, William S. (June 1965). "Barley Mill Road Covered Bridge" (PDF). Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved February 15, 2014.
  3. ^ Gravdon Wood and Rosemary Troy (June 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Ashland Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved March 16, 2013. Accompanying photo.
  4. ^ Berlow, Lawrence (2015). Reference Guide to Famous Engineering Landmarks of the World; Bridges, Tunnels, Dams, Roads and Other Structures. Taylor & Francis. p. 9. ISBN 9781135932541.
  5. ^ "Historic bridge hit by plow, closed for repairs". The News Journal. January 11, 2017. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Phillips, Mike (September 13, 2021). "Ashland Bridge remains closed due to storm damage". WDEL 101.7FM. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
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