“We are trying to make this a national event,” said Christopher H. Marston, Architect and Project Leader at the National Park Service’s Historic American Engineering Record and conference planning committee chair.
David Simmons, president of the Ohio Historical Bridge Association, also served on the planning committee.
Simmons said there are 145 covered bridges in Ohio, and more are being built. He listed Germantown and Miami, Preble and Greene counties as locations of significant covered bridges in southwest Ohio.
Simmons said the Eldean Covered Bridge in Miami County between Troy and Piqua, built in 1860, is a "true representative" of 19th-century bridge style. It will be featured in two conference tours.
According to Marston, covered bridges are important to preserve, as they represent our history.
“Wooden-truss bridges are a uniquely American (invention),” he said.
At their peak in the 1800s, Simmons said, there were more than 2,000 covered bridges in Ohio. Today, they face threats of arson and vandalism, but maintain some advantages over modern steel bridges. While de-icing chemicals can weaken steel, they often strengthen the wood used in covered bridges.
Marston said a goal of the conference is to show the accomplishments of research programs and renovations funded by the Federal Highway Administration’s National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program, established in 1998.
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