Historic Nevada County bridge to be restored
By Vanessa Ochavillo, Sacramento Bee
Nevada County’s Bridgeport Covered Bridge – the longest surviving single-span covered bridge in the country – will be restored to survive at least another century.
A three-year fight for funding, launched by members of a grass-roots campaign committee known as Save Our Bridge, ended June 20 when Gov. Jerry Brown approved $1.3 million for the bridge’s restoration in the state’s final budget. The funding effort included the submission of more than 500 letters and emails to the governor the week before the budget was signed.
The 208-foot wooden bridge stretching over the South Yuba River is warped. Years of wear and tear have caused a dangerous deformation: Joints have come undone, and tension rods have exceeded their capacity to hold the bridge together.
