Manning-Rye Covered Bridge, Wooden railway bridge in Whitman County, United States

The Manning-Rye Covered Bridge spans the Palouse River near Colfax, Washington. Its timber housing protects a single-span timber Howe truss that rests on timber pile abutments encased with timber cribs. The top was left uncovered so the locomotive could connect to overhead electric lines. After 1969, wooden planking replaced the rails for automobile access.

The bridge was built around 1918 by the Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad, an interurban electric line. It passed to the Great Northern Railroad and carried trains until 1967. A private owner bought it in 1969, replaced the rails with wooden planking and used it for car access. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and destroyed by the Manning Fire on September 7, 2020.

Locals also call it the Harpole Bridge, after a nearby farm family. The timber housing sheltered a Howe truss on timber pile abutments encased in timber cribs, a type of work typical of the Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad interurban line. The open top let the locomotive reach the overhead electric wires.

The bridge no longer stands: the Manning Fire destroyed it on September 7, 2020, so there is no structure left to inspect. Its site lies about one mile from County Route 4 near Colfax, in Whitman County, Washington. The crossing is on private land, so any visit to the riverbank requires the owner's permission.

The bridge had an open top section rather than a fully enclosed roof to allow overhead electrical power lines for trains to pass through. This design difference from typical covered bridges shows how the structure was specifically engineered for electric railway operations.