A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof and siding which, in most covered bridges, create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered wooden bridges have a life span of only 10 to 15 years because of the effects of rain and sun.
Bridges having covers for reasons other than protecting wood trusses, such are for protecting pedestrians, are also sometimes called covered bridges.
Read more about Covered Bridge: History and Development, Examples of Covered Bridges, Other Covered Bridges, Covered Bridges in Fiction, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words covered and/or bridge:
“The little toy dog is covered with dust,
But sturdy and stanch he stands;
And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And the musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;
And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.”
—Eugene Field (1850–1895)
“Home! Yes! she would see Trafalgar Square, again; and Nelson on his plinth; and Chelsea Bridge as it dissolved into the Thames at twilight ... and St. Paul’s, the single Amazon breast of her beloved native city.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)