There are many covered bridges in America, was there a reason for them being covered, other than shelter?

Question

Thank you for your answers. I like the idea of covered bridges...
I wondered if they have conservation orders on them.

Answer 1

I can't speak for other parts of the country, but in the Midwest we get raging blizzards in the winter. If the snow builds up on the bridge, you can't cross it. No one wants to be in charge of shoveling a bridge by hand in order to keep it passable. In addition, the weight of snow is intense. 3' of snow on a roof can make it collapse from the weight. Imagine if there were 6' piled up on an open bridge.

So our ancestors covered our bridges to keep the snow from harming the bridges so that we could cross over safely regardless of the season.

Answer 2

With regards to the conservation order query:
There is a covered bridge in Philippi, West Virginia that is supposedly the site of the first land battle of the American Civil war (3 June 1861). Not too long ago the bridge was severely damaged by fire. It was deemed important enough to restore as a covered bridge.

A lot of the covered bridges I came across were quite small and therefore had pretty limited use by the "yank tanks" a lot of people drive. I used to have a pic of my grandmother's car filling a bridge area.

Answer 3

No.

Although the shelter they provide is not only for the bridge users (i.e. people) but also for the bridge structure itself.

Most of the American covered bridges are made of wood and, by covering them to keep rain and snow off the main supporting structure, they lasted very much longer than they would have done if they had been left open to the elements.

Answer 4

It probably shows how many Swiss, Germans and Austrians went west! It's quite common here in Switzerland to cover bridges - not just to attract tourists, but for practical reasons. Stops the wood rotting, stops the bridge collapsing and the weight of snow and stops the pedestrians slipping of into the half-frozen river/lake below.

Answer 5

Back in the day, in cold climates the bridges were covered to prevent ice build up in the winter time. uncovered briges were prone to collaps due to the weight of the ice and also the huge build up made them very hazardous to cross.