Pictures and story by John Kucko Digital
Homestretch for, what I feel, is maybe the coolest construction project in America! The brand new covered bridge being built over Cayuga Creek in the Hamlet of Cowlesville, NY in the Town of Bennington is absolutely spectacular! The paving, performed by Keeler Construction in Albion, NY, is complete. The surface on the bridge was paved to prevent against slippery conditions had it remained a wood surface. Both approaches to the bridge were paved, as was a long stretch of Schoellkopf Road here on the north side. A third coating of stain was applied on the exterior yesterday (first image), a final clear coat of fire repellent will be applied in the coming days.
The last work will be installing the tin roof—that’ll occur in the next two weeks or so. This bridge is expected to be finished by the end of this month. It’s a nostalgic nod to the six covered bridges this area of Western New York had here in the late 1800’s.
One of the neat stories I’ve encountered is that of laborer Erika Brumsted. The Batavia, NY native comes from a family of union carpenters. Her father and grandfather worked on many structures here in the region and all confess, they’ve not seen a project as great as this one. Erika has been with with L.C. Whitford, Inc. out of Wellsville, NY for five years. I’ve seen her busy on my last few visits cleaning up the bridge surface, first before the paving and yesterday after the paving work. She’s a hard worker and has been very helpful in my documentation efforts.
The Whitford folks will win many awards for this project, as will LaBella Associates out of Rochester for their work on the design. This bridge is magnificent on so many levels and I’ll be going back soon for another update, stay tuned…
