Lovejoy Covered Bridge - Andover, Maine

Located in a quiet part of western Maine, the Lovejoy Covered Bridge is a Paddleford truss style covered bridge built in 1867. The Lovejoy Covered Bridge is the shortest covered bridge in the state of Maine, spanning a length of 75 feet over the Ellis River, just south of the village of Andover. The last remaining covered bridge out of three covered bridges that were in Andover, the Lovejoy Bridge gets its name from the Lovejoy house, which was on the eastern side of the Ellis River. The bridge was constructed to replace a worn out bridge using the same abutments, costing a grand total of $743.45 by raising taxes in the town. As is a common story with covered bridges, the Lovejoy Covered Bridge has seen its share of wear and tear over the years. In 1983. a heavy sand truck fell through the deck of the bridge while trying to cross the span. As a result, the bridge was reinforced in 1984 to carry local traffic. Today, the Lovejoy Covered Bridge can be enjoyed for passive recreation. It looks like a good stop during a bicycle tour, as I apparently saw during my visit, or good for just enjoying time along the river.

How to Get There:

Sources and Links:
MaineDOT - Lovejoy Bridge, Andover, Maine
Andover, Maine - Bridges and Covered Bridges
Bridgehunter.com - Lovejoy Covered Bridge 19-09-01

Comments

Paper Highways: The Unbuilt New Orleans Bypass (Proposed I-410)

There are many examples around the United States of proposed freeway corridors in urban areas that never saw the light of day for one reason or another. They all fall somewhere in between the little-known and the infamous and from the mundane to the spectacular. One of the more obscure and interesting examples of such a project is the short-lived idea to construct a southern beltway for the New Orleans metropolitan area in the 1960s and 70s. Greater New Orleans and its surrounding area grew rapidly in the years after World War II, as suburban sprawl encroached on the historically rural downriver parishes around the city. In response to the development of the region’s Westbank and the emergence of communities in St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes as viable suburban communities during this period, regional planners began to consider concepts for new infrastructure projects to serve this growing population. The idea for a circular freeway around the southern perimeter of t

Hernando de Soto Bridge (Memphis, TN)

The newest of the bridges that span the lower Mississippi River at Memphis, the Hernando de Soto Bridge was completed in 1973 and carries Interstate 40 between downtown Memphis and West Memphis, AR. The bridge’s signature M-shaped superstructure makes it an instantly recognizable landmark in the city and one of the most visually unique bridges on the Mississippi River. As early as 1953, Memphis city planners recommended the construction of a second highway bridge across the Mississippi River to connect the city with West Memphis, AR. The Memphis & Arkansas Bridge had been completed only four years earlier a couple miles downriver from downtown, however it was expected that long-term growth in the metro area would warrant the construction of an additional bridge, the fourth crossing of the Mississippi River to be built at Memphis, in the not-too-distant future. Unlike the previous three Mississippi River bridges to be built the city, the location chosen for this bridge was about two

Huey P. Long Bridge (New Orleans, LA)

Located on the lower Mississippi River a few miles west of New Orleans, the Huey P. Long Bridge is an enormous steel truss bridge that carries both road and rail traffic on an old-time structure that is a fascinating example of a bridge that has evolved in recent years to meet the traffic and safety demands of modern times. While officially located in suburban Jefferson Parish near the unincorporated community of Bridge City, this bridge’s location is most often associated with New Orleans, given that it’s the largest and most recognizable incorporated population center in the nearby vicinity. For this reason, this blog article considers the bridge’s location to be in New Orleans, even though this isn’t 100% geographically correct. Completed in 1935 as the first bridge across the Mississippi River in Louisiana and the first to be built in the New Orleans area, this bridge is one of two bridges on the Mississippi named for Huey P. Long, a Louisiana politician who served as the 40th Gove

Gribblenation

Search This Blog