| abstract | The book represents a final milestone from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)-sponsored National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation (NHCBP) Program. HAER and the FHWA's Office of Infrastructure Research and Development have maintained a joint research and technology program for historic covered bridges since 2002. This partnership has also included a variety of initiatives including documentation, engineering studies, National Historic Landmark designations, conferences, a traveling exhibition, and the 2015 book, Covered Bridges and the Birth of American Engineering.
At the First National Covered Bridge Conference in Burlington, VT, in 2003, attendees adopted the "Burlington Charter for the Preservation of Historic Covered Bridges." The charter resolved to develop guidelines that adapt the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preservation, Rehabilitation, Restoration, and Reconstruction to historic covered bridges. Focusing on rehabilitation of covered bridges, these Guidelines are organized by function of the structure. Following general principles, chapters examine superstructure, substructure, exterior envelope, site features, and safety/protection systems. The illustrated Guidelines are presented in a two-column format describing recommended and non-recommended treatments.
The book concludes with eleven covered bridge rehabilitation case studies (written by the engineers, bridgewrights, and public officials who worked on them), comprised of various truss types, locations, rehabilitation issues, and budgets. The Guidelines will be a useful resource for educating engineers, State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPOs), Departments of Transportation (DOTs), bridge owners, preservationists, and residents in maintaining these historic symbols of American engineering for future generations.
(Source: National Park Service) |