Chitwood Bridge, Covered bridge in Lincoln County, Oregon, US.
Chitwood Bridge is a wooden covered bridge that spans the Yaquina River in Lincoln County. It displays traditional Howe truss construction with wooden protective covering that shields the entire structure.
Lincoln County built the Chitwood Bridge in 1926, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Scheduled for demolition, it was instead improved in 1984 through a federally funded restoration project.
Chitwood was a station on the Corvallis–Toledo railway, built between 1881 and 1885, and was named for Joshua Chitwood, who lived nearby while the line was under construction. Trains still run on the railway, but they no longer stop at Chitwood.
The bridge carries Chitwood Road, which leaves U.S. Route 20 at Chitwood, over the Yaquina River. It is open to both vehicles and pedestrians, so drivers cross on the same wooden deck as walkers. The railway line beside the site still carries trains, though none stop at Chitwood anymore.
The 1984 work was paid for with federal funds, not local advocacy, and it improved the bridge rather than merely saving it. The structure is a Howe truss 96 feet (29 m) long, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
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