Old Salem Pedestrian Covered Bridge, North Carolina

This award-winning bridge was created by Blue Ridge Timberwrights, DCF Engineering and Fowler Jones Beers Construction Company to make an entrance to the Old Salem village that would reflect 19th Century construction. Old Salem, North Carolina is a National Landmark Historic District with more than 100 historic structures. Constructed in 1998, the 120-foot span timber frame connects a visitors' center parking lot to the Old Salem museum complex across a busy roadway.

There are more than 600 salvage yellow pine timbers in the Old Salem Bridge. These salvaged timbers have tight growth rings and strength inherent in old growth timber. Most of the timbers came from a demolished early 20th century fertilizer plant in Chesapeake, Virginia. The oldest timbers were pulled from the cotton docks of Savannah Harbor, Georgia, where they had been used as piling for over 200 years.

The sides, or trusses, of the Old Salem Bridge were built first, lying flat on their sides. A crane was used to raise the trusses while deck and roof timbers tied the frame together. The trusses are what define this bridge as Burr-arch. The chords have a slight arch or "camber" built into them making the bridge appear humpbacked. This arch prevents sagging as well as giving a picturesque appearance. Once completed, the timber frame was rolled across temporary framework into its final position.