The Belknap Bridge (also McKenzie River Bridge) crosses the McKenzie River near the

unincorporated Unincorporated may refer to: * Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality * Unincorporated entity, a type of organization * Unincorporated territories of the United States, territories under U.S. jurisdiction, to which Congress ...

community of

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

Lane County, Oregon Lane County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 382,971, making it the fourth-most populous county in Oregon. The county seat is Eugene. It is named in honor of Joseph Lane, Orego ...

, United States. It is approximately three miles west of the town of McKenzie Bridge which is named after the bridge. It is the fourth covered bridge built on the site. The bridge is well maintained and open to traffic. The Belknap Bridge is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

History

Lane County was the first in Oregon to build covered bridges on a large scale. Today, the county has more surviving covered bridges than any other county west of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, a total of 17 bridges, including 14 that are still open to traffic. There has been a covered bridge at the Belknap Bridge site since 1890 as four different bridge structures.Kletzok, Melinda
"Goodpasture Bridge Commemorative Coins: Going, Going, Gone"
Public Information Office, Lane County Government, Eugene, Oregon, December 9, 2005.
''Lane County, Oregon eGovernment'',

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, September 1, 2008. The original Belknap Bridge was built in 1890 by Mr. T. Thomson. It was named for a pioneer family that settled in the McKenzie River area, Rollin S. Belknap, who discovered and developed Belknap Springs approximately nine miles upstream from the bridge. His son, J. H. Belknap, was involved in promoting a toll road over

McKenzie Pass McKenzie Pass, elevation , is a mountain pass in the Cascade Range in central Oregon in the United States. It is located at the border of Linn and Deschutes counties, approximately northwest of Bend, between the Three Sisters to the south a ...

in the early 1870s."Belknap Bridge"
, ''Oregon Covered Bridges'', Ultimate Draft Writer's Consortium, 2004. Traffic weakened the structure over time, so Lane County replaced it in 1911. The second bridge was replaced in 1939. That bridge, however, was destroyed in the Pacific Northwest flood of 1964. The current bridge opened in 1966. In 1975, louvered windows were added to the south side of the structure to improve the bridge's interior light. The bridge structure was strengthened and the exterior repaired in 1992. In 2002, a new roof was installed as part of a general bridge renovation project."McKenzie River (Belknap) Covered Bridge"
''A Guide to Oregon Covered Bridges'',

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...

, State of Oregon,

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, July 2003 Because of its unique scenic beauty and its importance to Oregon's transportation history, the Belknap Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Today, Lane County's Engineering Division maintains the covered bridges that are open to traffic, including the Belknap Bridge.

Structure

The current Belknap Bridge was designed for Lane County by the Oregon Bridge Corporation of

Springfield, Oregon Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield ...

, as a classic covered bridge. It is long, containing a single span supported by a

Howe truss A Howe truss is a truss bridge consisting of chords, verticals, and diagonals whose vertical members are in tension and whose diagonal members are in compression. The Howe truss was invented by William Howe in 1840, and was widely used as a bridg ...

system. Its maximum carrying capacity of is to accommodate logging trucks. The bridge rests on two concrete foundation piers. Its wooden floor planks and shingled roof are in good condition, as is the

weatherboard Clapboard (), also called bevel siding, lap siding, and weatherboard, with regional variation in the definition of these terms, is wooden siding of a building in the form of horizontal boards, often overlapping. ''Clapboard'' in modern Americ ...

housing that protects the Howe truss infrastructure from the elements. Most of Oregon's covered bridges, including the Belknap Bridge, were built using the Howe truss system, developed in 1840 by the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

architect William Howe. The system uses heavy timbers reinforced with iron or steel rods. The trusses have central beams and crossed timbers with adjustable, vertical iron rods to support the structural load.Hauser, Susan
"Over the River and Through the Bridge"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'',

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

, March 23, 2003.

References

{{reflist

External links

Lane County, Oregon eGovernment

Covered Bridge Society of Oregon
1966 establishments in Oregon Bridges completed in 1966 Covered bridges in Lane County, Oregon Covered bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Howe truss bridges in the United States National Register of Historic Places in Lane County, Oregon Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Oregon Wooden bridges in Oregon Bridges over the McKenzie River (Oregon)

History

Structure

See also

References

External links