Lowell Bridge, Covered bridge in Lane County, Oregon, US

Lowell Bridge is a covered wooden bridge over the Middle Fork Willamette River in Lowell, Oregon, built in 1945 to replace the 1907 original. It is the widest covered bridge in the state, with a gabled roof and timber framing enclosing the roadway. In 1953 the whole structure was raised 6 feet (1.8 m) and its floor replaced ahead of Dexter Dam flooding.

Amos Hyland settled here in 1874 and ran a ferry at the crossing until Nels Roney built the first bridge in 1907. A truck accident forced its replacement in 1945 with the widest covered bridge in Oregon. In 1953 the structure was raised 6 feet ahead of Dexter Dam, and on November 29, 1979 it joined the National Register of Historic Places.

The bridge marks where Amos Hyland ran a ferry operation in 1874 before founding the nearby town, which he named after his hometown in Maine. The location preserves this historical connection to the East Coast roots of its settler.

Access to the bridge is best from the nearby town of Lowell where parking and local roads lead to the site. A visitor center located in the area offers background information about the structure and the history of covered bridges in the region, adding context to your visit.

In 1953 the whole bridge was raised 6 feet (1.8 m) and its floor replaced ahead of the flooding expected from Dexter Dam, completed in 1955. Engineers' water-level calculations proved right: clearance under the bridge came to about 2 feet (0.6 m).