Skip to main content

Blenheim Covered Bridge

They say that you never forget your first. In this case, the Blenheim Covered Bridge in Schoharie County was the first covered bridge that I saw, back when I was a young boy during the 1980s. Since then, I have seen numerous covered bridges stretching from coast to coast in both the United States and Canada, but I will always have an affinity towards the Blenheim Covered Bridge and its unique design.

The old Blenheim Covered Bridge in October 2008.

The original Blenheim Bridge was built in 1855 by Nicholas Montgomery Powers, who was a prominent covered bridge builder of his day. Spanning over the Schoharie Creek, the bridge was located in the Town of Blenheim in southeastern Schoharie County on NY 30 in North Blenheim, until it was washed away during the floods caused by the remnants of Hurricane Irene on August 28, 2011. During its existence, the Blenheim Bridge was the longest single span bridge in the world at 228 feet in length and was one of only just a few remaining bridges in the world with two separated (or double barreled) lanes. The old Blenheim Bridge was open to vehicular traffic until 1932, when New York State built a new bridge for traffic about 100 feet downstream of the covered bridge. The covered bridge was supposed to removed back then, but there was enough public outcry that caused the covered bridge to remain open for sightseeing, thus allowing future generations to enjoy this local treasure.



After floods had destroyed the original bridge, efforts have been made to build a replica of the Blenheim Bridge. In 2016, funds were approved to pay for the construction of a new covered bridge using federal and state funds. Construction on the new bridge commenced in 2017, with an expected opening of the new bridge in July 2018. I'll be there as soon as I can after it opens, so I can create new memories.


Construction of one of the sides of the new bridge in December 2017.


Sources and Links:
National Historic Landmarks Program - Old Blenheim Bridge
New York State Covered Bridge Society - Blenheim Covered Bridge
Watershed Post - Schoharie County Approves Final Design for new Blenheim Bridge 
Cobleskill Times-Journal - Work on Blenheim Bridge Starting Soon

Crossposted from my Blenheim Covered Bridge post at the Unlocking New York blog.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chowchilla Mountain Road to Yosemite National Park

Chowchilla Mountain Road of Mariposa County is one of the oldest roadways servicing Yosemite National Park.  As presently configured this fourteen-mile highway begins at California State Route 49 near Elliot Corner and terminates at the Wawona Road in Yosemite National Park.  Chowchilla Mountain Road was constructed as a franchise toll road over Battalion Pass circa 1869-1870.  The highway was built at behest of Galen Clark to connect the town of Mariposa to his property near the South Fork Merced River at what is now Wawona.   In late 1874 the highway along with Clark’s Station would be purchased by the Washburn Brothers.  The Washburn Brothers would continue to toll Chowchilla Mountain Road as part of their Yosemite Stage Route lines.  The highway would ultimately become a Mariposa County public highway in 1917.  Mariposa would later be more directly linked with Yosemite Valley in 1926 following the completion of the Yosemite All-Year Highwa...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...