Humpback Bridge

Humpback Bridge

Humpback Bridge Photograph by Mark Mones
Photo 2 of Humpback Bridge Photo 3 of Humpback Bridge Photo 4 of Humpback Bridge Photo 5 of Humpback Bridge Photo 6 of Humpback Bridge Photo 7 of Humpback Bridge
1857; 1954 restored. Across Dunlap Creek at Rumsey Rd., 3 miles west of Covington

Originally part of the James River and Kanawha Valley Turnpike, this structure is the last surviving curved-span covered wooden bridge in the nation and the oldest covered bridge in Virginia. With a one-hundred-and-twenty-foot span, the bridge is supported on stone abutments placed one hundred feet apart, but with no middle support. A slight arch in the truss supports, leaving the center point eight feet higher than the ends, gives the bridge its characteristic hump. A bowed gable roof, matching the arc of the bridge, shelters the weatherboarded structure. The bridge is closed to vehicular traffic but accessible to pedestrians.

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