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Pleasantville Covered Bridge 38-06-01

Berks County, Pennsylvania

Photos 

Overview

Photo taken Feb. 2007 by James H. Fox

BH Photo #108520

Map 

Description 

One of five remaining covered wooden bridges in Berks County, the bridge is a contributing resource in the Oley Township Historic District. It is distinctive for its two-phase construction: an arch-stiffened pony truss completed in 1852 and covered by a different builder in 1856. With its three sets of stiffening arches, the bridge is a unique adaptation of Theodore's Burr's patented truss form.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Covered bridge over Little Manatawny Creek on PA 1030 (Covered Bridge Road)
Location
Berks County, Pennsylvania
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1852 as an uncovered bridge; covered in 1856
Builders
- David Renno (1852 superstructure)
- Jonathan Bitner (1856 modifications)
- Levi Marks (1852 substructure)
Design
Triple Burr arch truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 126.0 ft.
Total length: 142.0 ft.
Deck width: 16.5 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 11.9 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1981
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.37897, -75.73872   (decimal degrees)
40°22'44" N, 75°44'19" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/437292/4470082 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Manatawny
Inventory numbers
NRHP 81000533 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
WGCB 38-06-01 (World Guide to Covered Bridges number)
PA 06 1030 0080 0000 (Pennsylvania Bridge Management System number)
BH 30411 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (6,552)
Berks County, Pennsylvania (170)
Built 1852 (24)
Built during 1850s (359)
Burr arch-truss (297)
Covered (1,418)
David Renno (1)
HAER documented (1,100)
Jonathan Bitner (1)
 Levi Marks (1)
NR-listed (2,857)
Open (37,838)
Owned by state (14,531)
Pennsylvania (4,691)
Span length 125-175 feet (3,892)
Through truss (13,462)
Total length 125-175 feet (5,481)
Truss (30,346)

Update Log 

  • January 22, 2015: HAER photos posted by Dave King
  • March 3, 2014: New photos from Jack Schmidt
  • March 2, 2014: Photo imported by Dave King
  • February 26, 2007: Posted photos from James H. Fox

Sources 

  • James H. Fox
  • HAER PA-491 - Pleasantville Covered Bridge, Spanning Little Manatawny Creek at Covered Bridge Road (State Route 1030), Manatawny vicinity, Berks County, PA
  • Dale Travis Covered Bridge List
  • Jack Schmidt - jjturtle [at] earthlink [dot] net
  • HAER PA-491 - Pleasantville Covered Bridge, Spanning Little Manatawny Creek at Covered Bridge Road (State Route 1030), Manatawny, Berks County, PA
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Comments 

Pleasantville Covered Bridge 38-06-01
Posted November 6, 2018, by George Oakley (Georgeoakley49 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

Just read in today's paper that this bridge is reopened after damage to the height restriction bar was fixed.Goes to show how height restriction bars can come in handy when it comes to protecting both truss and covered bridges.By the way,the driver is still going to be cited and most likely have to pay for damages.

Pleasantville Covered Bridge 38-06-01
Posted November 2, 2018, by George Oakley (Georgeoakley49 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

Read in this mornings local paper that this bridge is closed indefinitely due to a high profile truck hitting one of the height restriction barriers which also damaged the bridges abutments.The driver stopped and will be cited.As far as I know the covered bridge itself wasn't damaged.I'll let everybody know when I hear or read anything about this bridge.