Construction of the Cumberland County Covered Bridge

Construction of the Cumberland County Covered Bridge. . , November - December - 1998 , Removal of Old Structure, Existing 1920 Concrete Tru-Truss Bridge., October 26 - 1998 Closing Bridge and Preparing for Removal., Old Structure is in poor condition. Pier footing is severely undermined., Deck Removed., Removing Abutments., Gary Kruger - Cumberland County Engineer and Mark Tucker - Illinois Department of Transportation - Cumberland Engineer Reviewing progress of work., January - April - 1999 , Construction West Abutment, Excavation of West Abutment Footing into shale and rock. , Pouring Footing West Abutment. , Forming lower half of West Abutment. , Flooding - January 1999 halted work. , Pouring Lower Half West Abutment. , Top of West Abutment framed and poured., May - August - 1999 , Construction East Abutment, Driving Sheet Piling for Cofferdam - East Abutment. , Driving H-Pile for Footing in East Abutment. , Pouring Concrete Footings. , Flooded Again. , Forming bottom half of East Abutment. , Placing reinforcing steel. , Pouring concrete East Abutment. , Forming Top Half East Abutment. , Removing Forms and Cofferdam. , Looking East across new Abutments. , East Abutments Completed. , River side of completed East Abutment., September 1999 - February 2000 , Assembly of Trusses, The 100 Ft. Arch Halves arriving by truck. , There is a total of 394 tons of wood and 40 tons of steel plates and bolts to be used in building this structure. , The Arches and Trusses were pre-cut, glue laminated, and drilled prior to delivery. The materials were then delivered to the site and stacked along the roadway. , The Trusses were bolted together and assembled on the job sit. , All of the connectors and splices were bolted on prior to the erection. , The Trusses were assembled in halves and stacked in the order that they would be erected., March - April - 2000 , Erecting Arches and Trusses, Arch's are being hoisted into position. , Arch being connected to the Abutment. , Temporary shoring held up Superstructure until the Arches and Trusses were completed. , Bolting up the Arch Splice. , North Arch being supported by temporary bracing. , Both Arches now in place and being supported by temporary bracing. , Large truck crane being prepared to hoist trusses. , Attaching the lifting lines on the first Truss to be hoisted into place. , First Truss being hoisted into place. , North East Inside Truss being attached to Arch. , South East Inside Truss being hoisted into place opposite to the first Truss. , Even with heavy equipment it takes manpower to nudge the Trusses in place. , Lateral Bracing being placed between inside Trusses to stabilize them. , North West inside Truss being set into place. , South West Inside Truss being set into place. This is the last of the Inside Trusses to be placed. , The South West Outside Truss being placed beside the Arch and Inside Truss. , Setting North West Outside Truss. , Setting South East Outside Truss. This Completed the placing of the Trusses , April - May - 2000 , Erecting Upper Cross Bracing, Floor Beams, and Roadway Decking., Trusses are now in place. , Portal End members being Placed. , Upper and Lower Lateral Bracing being installed. , Temporary bracing which held up the trusses until they were connected is now being removed. , Temporary bracing has been removed and Bridge Trusses are now standing on their own. , Preparing Floor Beams for installation. , Installing Floor Beams. , Floor Beams completed and Floor Panels are being lifted into place. , Placing Floor Panels. , Floor Panels which make up the driving surface in now completed. , The remainder of the upper cross beams are being installed. , End view showing upper cross bracing, floor decking, floor beams, and lower cross bracing., June - August - 2000 , Placed Siding, Sidewalks, And Roofing., Framing for pedestrian walk to be installed on each side of roadway. , Installing walking surface to the sidewalks. , Sidewalks are now complete. , Framing for Siding. , Installing Handrails. , The interior of the structure is now substantially completed and the Roof Trusses are being prepared for placement. , First Roof Truss being installed. , Roof Trusses completed and working on framing for siding. , Shake shingles have arrived. , Shingles almost complete. , Framing for Siding. , Started placing siding., September 2000 - April 2001 , Placed Pavement sidewalks, and Guardrails., Raising grade of roadway on East end of Bridge. , Paving new approaches to bridge. , Concrete Paving now completed. , Adding finishing touches by installing Guard-rail. , After two years of construction the Cumberland County Cover Bridge is Completed , October 23, 1998 - April 23, 2001 , Workers who made this project possible., Here are just a few photos of the many workers who labored on this bridge. , Elmer G. Pyle-CE, SE, Designer of this Bridge. , Left Gary Kruger, Cumberland County Engineer, Right Mark Tucker, IL Dept. of Transportation Project Engineer. , Elly Osborne-IDOT Technician Elly took photographs daily of the construction, which contributed greatly to the preservation of the history of construction. , Just a few of the many constriction workers on this bridge. , Gene and Dean Brandenburg local residents who visited the site daily.