Pengra Covered Bridge - Built With Longest Timbers In Oregon!

Pengra Covered Bridge, also known as Fall Creek Covered Bridge, sits near the small town of Jasper in Lane County. The 120-foot (37 m) structure carries Place Road over Fall Creek.

The bridge's Howe truss design includes:

Semi-elliptical arched portals
Ribbon windows under the eaves
A small roofed window on the southwest-facing side

Pengra Covered Bridge is notable for using two of the longest timbers in Oregon's covered bridge history. These massive lower chords, 126 feet long and 16'' by 18'', were too large for conventional processing at sawmills.

Instead, they were rough-hewn in the woods and transported to the site, where they were finished before installation. The upper chord timber is also a large and solid piece, with similar proportions at 96 feet and 14" x 18".

The Pengra Covered Bridge is still open to traffic today, with a 30-ton weight limit. Office Covered Bridge, the longest covered bridge in the state and the only covered bridge west of the Mississippi River with a distinct pedestrian walkway, sits nearby.

History

The bridge was named in honor of Byron J. Pengra, a pioneer surveyor who mapped significant parts of Oregon in the 1860s. The original structure was built in 1904 but replaced by the current one in 1938.

The Pengra Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. The same year, it was closed because weather and traffic weakened the bridge's construction. The bridge underwent significant repairs and reopened in 1995, with further refurbishments in 2015.

The preservation efforts, supported by grants from the Oregon Covered Bridge Program, have not only saved the bridge from deterioration but have also maintained it as a functional part of the local infrastructure and a historical monument.