Duck Creek Aqueduct Covered Bridge 14-24-11

Posted photos of aqueduct with repairs underway. Looks like repairs should be done by summer, though LOTS of silt needs to be dug out of miles of canal. That was a part of the cause of the aqueduct failing IMHO. I remember what it looked like 50 years ago and recently the canal has become very shabby.

Was past the Aqueduct last week. The floor has been removed and I would assume is being rebuilt. The canal itself has seen some activity with the removal of silt underway. The Canal boat the "Ben Franklin III" is showing some effects from being out in the open for two winters. (It is usually under a cover in the lock south of town during winter but was on the wrong side of the aqueduct when it failed.) I don't expect to see the aqueduct repaired before at least late summer of 2018.

The responsibility for the canal and it's structures was transfered a few years ago from the Dept. of Natural Resources to the Indiana State Museum. I wonder if the State Museum was ready for what it was getting into. The canal has silted up considerably and the lock needs repairs.

I thought it looked kinda "Saggy"when I was there a couple weeks ago! It is normal for them to divert the water off of the canal in winter and is obviously the best time for maintenance... Although it sounds as if it might not be in service for 2017 season. Better safe than sorry with this unique structure, and it will probably require constant maintenance due to the load carried. I hope they also do some work on the Eastern abutment, tuck-pointing and such.

Duck Creek Aqueduct suffered structural damage after heavy rains in Sept. 2016. The canal has been diverted off the aqueduct and much silt has been removed from the floor as a first step in repairs. Estimates of date for repair have been reported as sometime in late 2017.

I can see the gallery for the mules. How did the towrope get through or around the truss?

The reason that this aqueduct remained intact for so long after the canal was closed to traffic was that the canal continued to supply water to mills in Brookville and was kept up for their benefit. The canal continued to function for this purpose until the timber dam at Laurel failed in the late 1930's and the canal lost it's water supply. The dam was rebuilt in the late 1940's in concrete but it's use has been only for the historic park.

There is a narrow walkway thru the bridge. There was no sign that said, 'keep out', so I took my gradeschool age daughter on a walk thru of that bridge! Neat! If you go to Metamora the canal boat trip is worth taking.