Skip to main content

Lowell Covered Bridge - Oregon

 


As you head on Oregon Highway 58 (OR 58) between Eugene and the Cascades, you will see a covered bridge as you drive along the Dexter Reservoir. This is the Lowell Covered Bridge, the widest covered bridge in Oregon. At 210 feet long and 24 feet wide, this Howe through truss designed covered bridge has an interesting history, and while it is no longer open to motor vehicles, it has been given a second life as an interpretive center about the covered bridges in and around Lane County, Oregon.

In 1874, pioneer Amos Hyland settled in Lane County on the Middle Fork of the Willamette River. He established the town of Lowell, opened the local post office in 1880 and operated a ferry across the river until 1907. That year, the Lowell Covered Bridge was constructed by Nels Roney and a crew of eight men. The bridge was built to bypass an expensive ferry to cross the Willamette River and the route was a main passageway for settlers and supplies to reach the Willamette Valley at the turn of the 20th Century. This bridge was part of a larger project that Roney was working on to rebuild many of the covered spans that were destroyed by snow and flooding. During the 1940s, a truck accident severely damaged the bridge knocking its truss out of alignment, so a new bridge had to be constructed.

The new covered bridge was completed by 1945 for a cost of $25,473. The bridge was built to a maximum width of 24 feet to allow easy passage for motor vehicles, and the roof was added two years later. Then in 1953, with the impending construction of Dexter Dam, the bridge had to be raised an additional 6 feet to accommodate the forecasted water level increase. The dam was completed in 1955 and now when Dexter Reservoir is at capacity, the bridge clears the water by approximately 2 feet, and from what I have read. In 1981, a new concrete bypass bridge was built and use of the covered bridge was discontinued.

The Lowell Covered Bridge lives on as a self-guided interpretive center that showcases for visitors the history of the local area along with history of the Lowell Covered Bridge and other covered bridges in Oregon. One of the displays even has a small model with a section of the outside of the bridge cut-away so you can see how the structure was designed. There is a picnic area, plus places to go birdwatching or fishing. It sits right on the edge of the Willamette River, where on one side you can see the dam, and on the other there are park benches. It is an enjoyable stop along the way for wherever your travels along OR 58 take you.

Side profile of the Dexter Covered Bridge.

Bridge portal. You can see the interpretive displays inside of the bridge.

Walking to the covered bridge.

Dexter Reservoir.

Interpretive displays.

Interpretive displays.



How to Get There:



Sources and Links:
Bridgehunter.com - Lowell Covered Bridge 37-20-18
That Oregon Life - The Widest Covered Bridge In Oregon Is A Great Spot To Visit
Oregon.com - Lowell Covered Bridge
Eugene Cascades and Coast - Lowell Covered Bridge Interpretive Center
Travel Oregon - Lowell Bridge
City of Lowell, Oregon - Lowell Covered Bridge Interpretive Center

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 1915-era Teilman Bridge (the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge in California)

The Teilman Bridge is a semi-abandoned structure over Fresno Slough west of Burrell siding near the intersection of Elkhorn Avenue and Elkhorn Grade.  This structure is the only known Concrete Pony Truss Bridge constructed in California and was designed by Ingvart Teilman.  Teilman's Bridge would open in late 1915 when the Elkhorn Grade was the primary road between Fresno and Coalinga.  The structure would be replaced in 1991 but was left standing as it carries pipelines over Fresno Slough.  Part 1; the history of the Teilman Bridge In the early Twentieth Century the most direct highway between Fresno and Coalinga followed the Elkhorn Grade.  The Elkhorn Grade began at Fresno Slough a short distance west of Burrell siding.  From Fresno Slough the Elkhorn Grade followed a generally southwestern course through San Joaquin Valley into the Kettleman Hills towards Coalinga.   The Elkhorn Grade can be seen on the  1914 C.F. Weber map of Fresno Coun...

The Dummy Lights of New York

  A relic of the early days of motoring, dummy lights were traffic lights  that  were  placed  in the middle of a street intersection. In those early days, traffic shuffled through busy intersections with the help of a police officer who stood on top of a pedestal. As technology improved and electric traffic signals became commonplace, they were also  originally  positioned on a platform at the center of the intersection. Those traffic signals became known as  " dummy lights "  and were common until  traffic lights were moved  onto wires and poles that crossed above the intersection.  In New York State, only a handful of these dummy lights exist. The dummy lights  are found  in the Hudson Valley towns of Beacon and Croton-on-Hudson, plus there is an ongoing tug of war in Canajoharie in the Mohawk Valley, where their dummy light has been knocked down and replaced a few times. The dummy light in Canajoharie is currently...

Prunedale Road (Monterey County)

Prunedale Road is a short 2.6-mile-long frontage corridor of US Route 101 in the namesake Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Prior to 1932 US Route 101 bypassed Prunedale in favor of the San Juan Grade to the east.  Prunedale Road along with nearby Moro Road served as an alternative connecting highway between Salinas and San Juan Bautista.  Following the realignment of US Route 101 onto the Prunedale Cutoff the former through route along Prunedale Road would be rendered as a western frontage.   Part 1; the history of Prunedale Road Prunedale Road is located in and is named after the Monterey County community of Prunedale.  Said community was founded near the junction of San Migeul Canyon, Langley Canyon and Echo Valley.  Watsonville settler Charles Langley (namesake of Langley Canyon) was one of the prominent early community settlers.  The Prunedale Post Office would open for the first time in 1894 but would close by 1908.  Early agricu...