Rapps Dam Road Covered Bridge 38-15-14
Facts
- Overview
- Covered bridge over French Creek on Rapps Dam Road in East Pikeland Townhip
- Location
- Chester County, Pennsylvania
- Status
- Open to traffic
- History
- Built 1866; rehabilitated 1978
- Builder
- - Benjam F. Hastman
- Design
- Double Burr-arch truss (now supported by steel stringers)
- Dimensions
-
Length of largest span: 100.1 ft.
Total length: 102.0 ft.
Deck width: 14.1 ft.
- Recognition
- Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 1973
- Approximate latitude, longitude
- +40.13822, -75.55287 (decimal degrees)
40°08'18" N, 75°33'10" W (degrees°minutes'seconds") - Approximate UTM coordinates
- 18/452902/4443245 (zone/easting/northing)
- Quadrangle map:
- Phoenixville
- Inventory numbers
- PA 15 1049 0020 0759 (Pennsylvania Bridge Management System number)
NRHP 73001608 (National Register of Historic Places reference number)
BH 42749 (Bridgehunter.com ID) - Inspection (as of 08/1991)
- Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 68.3 (out of 100) - Average daily traffic (as of 1992)
- 613
Update Log
- April 29, 2014: New photos from Patrick S. O'Donnell
- March 3, 2014: New photos from Jack Schmidt
- March 2, 2014: Updated by Dave King: Added NRHP info, street view & imported photo
- June 9, 2009: Added by Raymond Klein
Sources
- Raymond Klein - Bookshelfthe [at] msn [dot] com
- Patrick S. O'Donnell - 1 [dot] 991km [at] comcast [dot] net
- Dave King - DKinghawkfan [at] hotmail [dot] com
- Jack Schmidt - jjturtle [at] earthlink [dot] net
Comments
Zachary,
While I agree with you in principle, the rail infrastructure in this country is not what it once was. I can also speak from personal experience that rail shipment of moderate volume that is not cross country isn't worth the headache and doesn't generate a cost savings.
I think the solution has to be a GPS system for trucks.
Regards,
Art S.
Absolutely unbelievable.
And people wonder why I'd rather see freight go by rail than cram the road with massive numbers of big menacing trucks. Just add things like this to the ol' list of reasons.
Wow, possible consequences for one's actions?
Adding insult to injury (or at least more injury), now flood damage: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20140501/rapps-dam-covered-bridge-sustains-storm-damage-penndot-assessing
Here's a nice summary of the situation:
http://northernchesco.does.co/breaking-rapps-dam-bridge-closed-indefinitely/
Luckily, it is a covered bridge so it will be restored, if it was an iron truss, it would be toast! (or undamaged...)
Some more pictures of the damage:
Here is more media including pictures:
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9520523
http://www.abc27.com/story/25384275/tractor-trailer-badly-damages-pa-covered-bridge
The bridge was attacked and heavily damaged by a moron trucker:
The dedication plaque was sticking out from between the cab and trailer when it was pulled over!
See a photo of the remains of the dam:
http://www.phoenixvilledoes.com/2012/09/01/trails-trails-everywhere/img_1510/
The original dam is pretty much gone. On the south side o the bridge there is a parking area by the powder mill I surrounded by a fence. Follow the trail through the woods and the dam was back there. It is soon to be a walking trail.
Do you know where the original Rapp's Dam is located?
This page's URL is http://bridgehunter.com/pa/chester/bh42749/