There's a special place for people who do this

This was the OLDEST covered bridge in Michigan.

KEENE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The historic covered Whites Bridge north of Richmond Road over the Flat River in Keene Township burned down Sunday morning, and an arson investigation is now underway.

It happened around 5 a.m., according to the Ionia County Sheriff’s Department. When deputies arrived, the bridge had already fallen into the river.

Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/07/07/arson-destroys-historic-covered-bridge/#ixzz2YNBixkMO

In happier days:

Was someone setting off fireworks from the bridge? This really sucks.

I think I have been there. That is sad,

people are stupid

This is why we can't have nice things.

What the berkley is wrong with people? I wonder if a replica can be built, or will a modern bridge will be required?

Gearheadotaku wrote: What the berkley is wrong with people? I wonder if a replica can be built, or will a modern bridge will be required?

build a replica. if you find the people responsible, public caning sounds reasonable

Gearheadotaku wrote: I wonder if a replica can be built, or will a modern bridge will be required?

paging the Amish

In reply to Grtechguy:

Please keep us updated as you get more info on this.

Woody, I will try to do so.

I know in Illinois for vehicle traffic to be allowed over the replacement it will have to be a 40 ton 24' wideminimum bridge.. even if the road in question is a 4 ton gravel road .. we have 1 nearby where the two rut gravel widens out to a interstate style low grade approach to a full 2 lane 90k lb bridge and then narrows back to two rut gravel. Its stupid.

Say is that the bridge used in Funny Farm?

Rat bastards have burned down all but one covered bridge in SC and they moved it to a state to keep it safe(r).

I fail to understand the mindset of these people.

I never understood why this country hates it's history. We like reading about it.. but we love to destroy the things that survive

nocones wrote: I know in Illinois for vehicle traffic to be allowed over the replacement it will have to be a 40 ton 24' wideminimum bridge.. even if the road in question is a 4 ton gravel road .. we have 1 nearby where the two rut gravel widens out to a interstate style low grade approach to a full 2 lane 90k lb bridge and then narrows back to two rut gravel. Its stupid.

that's if they get federal funding to build. The feds have a guideline that looks ahead at traffice patterns for 25 to 50 years and you must build the bridge to accomodate those patterns if you are to get Federal funding.

It's bad enough when a flood destroys a covered bridge, but torching one is just cruel.

In PA we have a crap-ton of covered bridges (almost 200). Very few are "truly" original. Occasionally they burn down or get moved/destroyed by floods. Invariably they are rebuilt as-is. When a bridge is covered under historic landmark provisions or other considerations, it is often exempt from normal hwy construction regulations.

I know this bridge well, it was amazing.

A guy I used to work for, and a friend of mine, has a driveway right at the end of the bridge. He even named his business after it- White's Bridge Tooling in Lowell.

This is sick, absolutely sick. If it was arson, well, I hope they catch who did it.

Yes, please keep us updated!

Grtechguy wrote: This was the OLDEST covered bridge in Michigan. KEENE TOWNSHIP, Mich. – The historic covered Whites Bridge north of Richmond Road over the Flat River in Keene Township burned down Sunday morning, and an arson investigation is now underway. It happened around 5 a.m., according to the Ionia County Sheriff’s Department. When deputies arrived, the bridge had already fallen into the river. Read more: http://fox17online.com/2013/07/07/arson-destroys-historic-covered-bridge/#ixzz2YNBixkMO In happier days:

paranoid_android74 wrote: This is sick, absolutely sick. If it was arson, well, I hope they catch who did it.

I merely hope he lives the rest of his life in fear, whether caught or not.

Special level of hell.

http://www.scenicbuckscounty.com/CoveredBridges/SchofieldFord.html

Sucks, but it happens. But the bridge above was rebuilt after a similar event. It'll all work out in the end.

it sucks that people like to destroy old stuff like this, but what is the attraction to these covered bridges? i saw all of the covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa (yes, like in the Clint Eastwood movie...) in one day last summer and didn't get any particular sense of awe or wonder from any of them...

In reply to novaderrik:

I've never really understood the fascination either, yup, its a wood bridge, yup they put a roof over it to keep it from rotting.

Please note that doesn't change that whoever did this should be beaten senseless by a mob with the charred remains. Destruction of old structures really annoys the hell out of me.

A small update: https://www.facebook.com/RebuildWhitesBridge?fref=ts

novaderrik wrote: it sucks that people like to destroy old stuff like this, but what is the attraction to these covered bridges? i saw all of the covered bridges in Madison County, Iowa (yes, like in the Clint Eastwood movie...) in one day last summer and didn't get any particular sense of awe or wonder from any of them...

Not to take us offtopic in this off topic thread... but I completely understand why people love Covered bridges. It's not the bridge itself, it is what it stands for.

In my old hometown, the main bridge off and on was the 9th street causeway. It was a series of bridges, both fixed and bascule that led from Ccean City NJ to Somers Point NJ. About 3 miles worth of concrete. It was built in the 20s and was deteriorating at an alarming rate.. but it was part of OCNJ's lore. It had narrow lanes, guardrails that would barely stop a car from going over the edge (certainly not an SUV) and sometimes in the summer, the bridges had a hard time locking back in the down position due to heat expansion of the metal grating.

Today it is replaced with a superwide, all fixed span causeway that is high enough not to flood, is smooth with lanes wide enough for the biggest of trucks, and delivers you from OCNJ to SomersPoint with no drama. Most people love it. I hate it.

We went from this:

To this:

Has progress been made: yes.. but a lot was lost in the transition. I found it funny that it was hard to find a picture of the new bridge. That must say something about it's lack of beauty