York County covered bridges lost to progress–Part One
While researching my recent York Sunday News column on the 1815-1818 McCall’s Ferry Bridge, I came across quite a few clippings in the Covered Bridge file at the York County History Center on the county’s covered bridges biting the dust. Many of them fell in the 1940s and 1950s, not to natural forces or vandalism, but to “progress.”
Here is an example from the May 1, 1948 Gazette and Daily:Covered Bridges to be Torn Down
Two more of York County’s romantic covered bridges to fall to Highway department’s modernization program. One near Zion’s View and other near Hellam.
Two of York County’s romantic but antiquated covered bridges will fall soon to the State Highway department’s road improvement drive, it was announced at the County Commissioners meeting in the Court house yesterday.
To be replaced are the covered bridge on Legislative route 66002, leading east from Zion’s View over the Conewago creek, and the covered bridge over Kreutz creek on a dirt road a mile east of Hellam, connection the Lincoln highway and the Mt. Pisgah road.
The Conewago creek project involves construction of 1,545 feet of improved highway on which a two-span, 70-foot concrete bridge will be constructed. The present bridge has a two ton limit.
The second project included the construction of .88 miles of improved road on Legislative route 66018, the relocation and straightening of the Pennsylvania railroad grade crossing near Stoner’s station, and a new concrete and steel span. The present bridge has a one ton limit.
John H. Bieber, right-of-way supervisor for the highway department, has obtained practically all releases where additional land is needed. The county will assume land damages on the Conewago creek project and will contribute $150 toward the $500 property damages involved in the Kreutz creek project.
See below for current Google street view images of the two bridge sites.
