Skip to main content

Buskirk Bridge

Buskirk Bridge in Upstate New York is the only covered bridge in New York that connects two counties - Washington and Rensselaer.  The bridge which was built in 1857 is a 160 foot Howe Truss design that crosses the Hoosic River.  Buskirk is one of four remaining covered bridges in Washington County.

In 2004-05, the bridge was completely rehabilitated re-opening in the Spring of 2005.  Unfortunately, it did not take long for overheight trucks to do damage at the entrances to the bridge. The bridge is one of the more popular covered bridges in both counties as there is ample parking on the Rensselaer side of the bridge.

One of the unique features of the bridge are the built in windows that are on both sides of the bridge.
The bridge is named after the van Buskirk family that lived nearby.  The Buskirk Bridge is the third crossing of the Hoosic River at this site since 1804.  The first bridge lasted all of eight years when it was replaced.  The Buskirk Bridge itself has survived many storms, floods, and ice flows in its over 150 years of existence. (1)


Bridge Specs(2):
  • Number: 32-58-04
  • Design: Howe Truss
  • Length: 160 feet
  • Built: 1857
  • Crosses: Hoosic River


Sources:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...

Hawaii Route 50

Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...