Milo Academy Bridge, Covered bridge in Milo, Oregon, USA.
The Milo Academy Bridge is a 100-foot covered bridge over the South Umpqua River in Milo, Oregon, on the road to Milo Adventist Academy. It is a single-lane steel truss with vertical wooden siding, a metal-clad gabled roof, four rectangular windows on each side and a large opening at each end for vehicles. It rests on two concrete piers, one on each bank.
The first bridge here, a wooden covered span, was built in 1920. By 1962 the academy judged it unsafe for the heavy farm vehicles of its agriculture program, so a steel truss bridge replaced it. Because the steel needed no protective housing, the new span was left uncovered until public concern over losing part of the community's identity led to the old wooden covering being adapted to fit it.
The wooden siding came from the 1920 bridge: when the steel truss went up in 1962, residents worried about losing part of their community identity, so the old covering was adapted to the new span. The bridge belongs to Milo Adventist Academy, which owns and maintains it.
The bridge is a single-lane crossing on the road to Milo Adventist Academy, so drivers may meet oncoming traffic and should yield. It is privately owned and maintained by the academy. Pedestrians can walk across to see the wooden siding and windows, but should watch for vehicles using the bridge for school access.
The Milo Academy Bridge is one of only two covered bridges in Oregon whose trusses are not timber; the other is the Swalley Canal (Rock O' The Range) Bridge north of Bend. Its wooden siding and metal-clad gabled roof shelter a steel frame, so the covering has no structural purpose.
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