  Visit New Brunswick's Covered Bridge Festival. Its held over a course of 7 days in Sussex in early June. Click Here for the Festival website (New window will open)  Top Story: See Whats New at the website  
 Another Covered Bridged BurnedBy the Editor [Update posted 10.20.2009, original story 10.15.2009]
We lost another covered bridge to arson in New Brunswick last night(Oct. 15th). Transportation Minister Denis Landry said the North Becaguimec River Bridge on Furlong Road was completely destroyed. It was one of 3 that crossed over that river located in the back of Hartland, Carleton County. Nearby in the Hartland Covered Bridge, the longest in the world, which has seen its fair share of floods and fires over the years but has managed to survive.
The Stone Ridge Covered Bridge was destroyed by fire Oct 10th, 2008. It was a senseless act of vandalism. It was formerly located on the Keswick River, just above Zealand in York County. It was the last surviving bridge in the area, the other 2 former bridges were both lost to arson in the 1970's. So far the RCMP has arrested no suspects and the Dept. of Transportation has said they won't even put in a bailey bridge to replace it.
The Coverdale (Bamford Colpitts) Covered Bridge is in trouble. It was originally moved from Riverview. 1869 Great Saxby Gale took out the original covered bridge here, a replacement was built after that. That is the bridge that stands today, in its new location. the bridge though is starting to sag, in the floor. You can look right through the double floor. The bridge max is 4 tons and is used by locals and farmers. Back in 1993 ice did damage the underside of the bridge and it was fixed up some but nothing has been done lately. There is also no blue and white sign pointing the way into the bridge although there is a hand painted sign pointing the way down to it. The residents at the top of the hill look after the bridge, Gloria Matthews. $350,000 in repairs is needed to fix up the bridge.
The Graham Creek Covered Bridge will be getting a new deck starting this week. Its located in Kent County, on Route 510, south of Rexton, across from the Big Cove Reserve. Its also down the road from where the old Mundleville bridge burned back in 2001.
It seems the Us Postal Service has made a big gaffe with its 2006 commemorative stamps of American icons, it is issuing a stamp depicting an American bridge alongside the words: "Longest Covered Bridge."
It refers to a 450-foot (135 metre) bridge connecting the communities of Cornish, N.H., and Windsor, Vt. The 140-year-old bridge is believed to be the longest bridge in the United States.
The world famous Hartland Bridge was recently threatened by rising ice levels on the Saint John River. The Ice Jam occurred on January 18th and thankfully it has subsided since but winter is far from over. We still have 2 more months of winter left in the season and it could again be damaged or lost. What made this latest threat interesting was that the bridge, and the town, got national coverage when both the Globe and Mail newspaper as well as the National Post put a photo of the birdge on their front pages. As well the national TV media like CTV news and the CBC covered the story on their national TV channels. The last time the bridge sustained any signifigant damage from ice was back in April of 1920 and at that time a span was lost and had to be rebuilt.  Covered Bridge Closed By the Editor [Posted 01.25.2006]
The 28.9 metre 1909 Stormdale Bridge over the Becacuimec river on the Foster Road out back of Hartland was damaged after a truck carrying a heavy load crossed over it on January 18th. The bridge will be repaired soon and traffic has been temporarily re-routed.
The Budd Bridge is facing a temporary clousure this weekend. Its just a 1 day closure in order for some minor work to be carried out by DOT.
A new bridge has been built in Baker Brook in Madawaska county replacing the old covered bridge there. The new $1.6 million bridge will open to traffic in Baker Brook this fall. The bridge will replace the Baker Brook River covered bridge on the Joseph Morneault Road. The new single-pane, prestressed concrete bridge is wider, allowing an increased capacity and making it safer. The covered bridge has been relocated downstream and will serve as a tourist attraction.
With all the rain and humid conditions for most of June, July, and going into part of August this past summer has been a dismal year for tourism operators in New Brunswick. Visitations was down 50% in places. Its hoped some of this can be reversed with a good fall although with school starting soon the family visits to the province cannot be recouped until 2005. But with more older retired people now that are travelling in the fall and even winter it could spell god times for the tourism industry.
There are actually 65 covered bridges left in the province, not 64, as noted in a recent story in Moncton Times and Transcript newspaper. There is also a full sized authentic replica covered bridge in the Acadian Historical Settlement near Caraquet, built back in 2000. It's an exact replica, much like the one in Fundy Park is(Point Wolfe) which itself is a perfect replica having been rebuilt in 1991 or '92 after it was destroyed by an accident.
I saw an interesting sight inside the Salmon River Bridge at Smith Creek near Sussex last Sunday. There was a small hawk inside the bridge feeding on a dead pigeon! The hawk was about twice the size of its prey, feathers were scattered all over the entrance to one side of the bridge. Before I could get a shot with my camera it took off with pigeon in tow. I wasn't sure which kind of hawk it was but I inadvertently disturbed its supper.
Did you know that Weldon Creek, just outside Hillsborough on route 910, used to have two covered bridges close to one another? They were close enough so that you could get them in one shot, like the two bridges in St. Martins where you can get both in one shot. Here though, sadly, one was burned by arsonists back in 1993. all the remains is a single lane bailey type army bridge. The twin bridges are no more, only the single Harris Steeve (Weldon Creek #3) bridge. The Dan Cupid or Hartley Steeve bridge is no more sadly.
If your planning on visiting some of New Brunswick's Covered Bridges in winter there are a few that you may have a hard time to get too. The Point Wolfe and 45 River Covered Bridges are only accessible via ski/snowshoes or via a snowmobile as the road into them isn't plowed and there is a gate blocking the road to Point Wolfe at the golf course.
The New Brunswick Department of Transportation advises the public that due to maintenance requirements, the Gayton Covered Bridge on the Gayton Road in Memramcook will be closed to through traffic daily from Feb. 16 to March 5, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Smithtown covered bridge in the Hampton area will be closed to traffic for about eight weeks in order for repairs to be carried out. The bridge, located on the Damascus Road, was off-limits effective Monday as the Department of Transportation makes improvements. The upgrades are part of the department's ongoing maintenance program. The work will include replacement of the deck and implementing a new system beneath the bridge. This will fortify the span to hold 12 tonnes, as opposed to the current maximum of seven tonnes. The bridge was built in 1914.
The Covered Bridge Centre at Coles Island NB needs to have a new above ground septic system put in place and a new floor put inside after some serious design flaws were found to be occuring. The $360,000 centre was built last year with money from ACOA but unfortuantely due to the clay soil underneath the centre the inground septic tank couldn't handle it properly and has to be replaced before the centre opens for business on April 1st. Also the floor inside is sagging with spaces forming in the floor due to the use of a variety of wood materials in its construction This too needs to be replaced before the centre can open for business. Total expenses for Kings County Tourism Association is expected to be in the tens of thousands of dollars.
The town of Sussex and Hampton will be giving money towards the 2nd Annual Covered Bridge Festival. the town of Hampton is goving $700 while the Town of Sussex will contribute several thousand dollars towards this event. Its a week long festival held in June. Last year was the first year ever for this event.
New Brunswick's first ever Covered Bridges CD was released on February 1st of this year. This will be the first ever CD of its kind in New Brunswick. Over 100 historical photos, 400 plus colour photos, maps, driving directions, stats for each of the 65 remaining bridges. Plus computer wallpaper, jigsaw and crossword puzzles and extra information on the Hartland Bridge and the last 3 bridges lost in the province!
The first annual covered bridge week celebration to be held in Sussex last week was a huge success! It started off with an official opening of the new Covered Bridge Tourism Centre at exit 365 off the Trans-Canada at Youngs Cove Road. Various other activities were held at different covered bridges throughout Kings County including an art show in one, bicycle races between various bridges, photography and painting contests, quilting and crafts fair and a lot more! I'm sure in time this annual event will go on to rival the other famous event held in Sussex every year, the annual Hot Air Balloon Fiesta.
A new covered bridge is in the planning process at Big Salmon River on the Fundy Parkway out past St. Martins. The PC Lord gov't promised that the Fundy Parkway will be completed during their mandate, at present only the first phase of the trail has been completed. the second phase of the parkway, similar to the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, will mean the building of a bridge to span the Big Salmon river and a road up to sussex and over to Fundy National Park. At present you have to turn around and backtrack back to St. Martins as the road deadends at Big Salmon at present. The covered bridge planned for the river crossing will be built to covered bridge standards. At one time there was another covered bridge in the exact same area as the one that's being planned. It existed at a time when there was a real community in the river valley, logging and shipbuilding were the main areas of livlihood but over time the community died out. all that remains are scattered remains of foundations and several graveyards.
Work is progressing on the covered Bridge Tourism Centre at Exit 365 at Coles Island. It will be finished in time for the tourism season. If you want to see it under construction just take the exit off the Trans-Canada at Coles Island on the way to Moncton. the Centre was built in response to the loss of tourism caused by the by-passing of the new 4-lane highway away from Sussex 2 years ago. the new tourism Centre will be built in the shape of a covered bridge and will highlight the covered bridges and other attractions in Kings County.
On Monday night, the 12th of May, an RCMP cruiser unintentionally damaged the Bayswater Creek Covered Bridge(Milkish Inlet) on the Kingston Peninsula. According to reports $20,000 in damage was done when the cruiser lost control in the bridge on a call to a domestic dispute. They think someone might have greased up the floor boards inside some so they could do illegal "burn outs" inside. But the officer did not know this, hence the cruiser lost control inside the bridge, fish-tailed and banged into both sides of the bridge and became wedged on one side. It must have been some accident as the cruiser was written off. DOT is still looking at how much damage was done to the bridge. The RCMP are looking into who put that slippery substance on the floor there and they could face changes if caught. The police are investigating this incident.
Over the weekend, March 30th and 31st, some areas of New Brunswick recieved well over 110 mm of rain in conjunction with snow and freezing rain and runoff from the heavy snowpack. That has caused extensive flooding in the southern part of the province especially in and around Sussex and Moncton. Trout Creek in Sussex has broken its banks threatening homes and causing extensive flooding throughout the town. The Salmon, Plumweseep and several other local covered bridges are in danger of being washed away. Closer to Moncton in Canaan Forks the Cherryvale Covered Bridge is in danger of being washed away by the Canaan River as the water is within half a metre of the bottom of the bridge as shown on ATV news Monday evening. In this area the water rose overnight on Sunday in excess of 2.5 metres. Water levels are expected to drop this evening as temperatures cool some and the the water level is expected to drop some. The Bamford Colpitts, Turtle Creek and several other Albert County Covered Bridges are in danger of being washed away!
The Covered Bridge Tourism Centre being built in Coles Island near exit 365 is progressing. Things have been quiet over the winter months but they did get some work done in late 2002, the concrete abutments, which the covered bridge replica centre will sit on, were started. Already the parking lot and a road in to it have been finished! The main bulk of work will begin in earnest in the spring of 2003 once the frost is out of the ground. It was announced in the Provincial Legislature on Friday, Feb. 20th, that the province would be replacing and removing all the metal roofs on our covered bridges and replace them with cedar shingles this year at an estimated cost of $500,000. This has actually been occuring over the last few years as part of routine maintenance but this is the first where the province has announced it will get rid of the remaining aluminum roofs using the more attractive and traditional cedar shingles. There is perhaps around a dozen covered bridges, out of 64, that stiff have the aluminum roofs which have been sadly coming apart. They are definately less attractive and not as durable as once hoped.
A public meeting was held in sussex in late 2002 concerning the proposed Covered Bridge Festival for 2003. This would be the first ever Bridge Festival for the town and Kings county. This was more of a public meeting to gage the support for such a festival. already many companies and business's in the Kings County are supports such a venture as does the Kings County Tourism Association. Similar type festivals in the US bring in tens of thousands of people and millions of dollars into their local economies. A tentative date for the event has yet to be announced but will more than likely occur in August or September.
The work year long repairs at the Hammond River covered bridge in French Village near Saint John have been pushing some residents to the breaking point. Area residents like Bonnie Kellar are "fed up" with all the detours, closures, and disruptions that have com about from the extensive work on the 90-year-old bridge. It all started with a routine deck replacement in 1999 and has continued after it was struck by a gravel truck in 2000. Now new sides and and a new roof have been included in the work for a total expenditure of over $4,000. Some of the repairs had to be carried out days a Dept. of Transportation spokesman, when they went to put on a new roof they found rotting timbers underneath and they had to replace those causing further delays. Work is expected to continue till next year when some additional work on the bottom od the structure will take place. What is needed in a new modern bridge next to this one which is what area residents are pushing for. They have even circulated a petition around and had it submitted to the Legislature this week asking just for that. Over 400 people had signed the petition and it was presented to MLS Brenda Fowlie.
About 18 people showed up for the first planning covered bridge planning session. Groupe represented included area towns and villages in addition to area businesses and other interested citizens. Some of the ideas put forth to go along with a celbration of our bridges included: raffles, photography contest, art and crafts, music, barbecue, minature bridge building contest in addition to many other things. A possible time suggested for the festival included late May/June, late July/August as well as October.
There is a covered bridge painting draw that is being held to raise money for the Charlotte County Activity Centre in St. Stephen. Artist David W. Steeves generously donated a painting of the now gone Parkindale Bridge that was in Albert County. The painting can be viewed at the St. Croix Library and tickets can be purchased there for $2 or 3 for $5. The draw will be held on Dec. 20th. For more info on the draw and for other locations where tickets can be purchased call 1-506-465-7667 or 755-6953. Covered Bridge Replica By the Editor [Posted 11.29.2002] There is a nice quarter scale covered bridge replica on a mini-golf course in Sussex. Its at the Mill Valley Mini-Golf Course at exit 195 off route 1 on route 890, Marble street.
Covered Bridge Festival Coming To New Brunswick 
By the Editor[Posted 11.22.2002] After a public meeting last Wednesday night in Sussex it looks like the Sussex area will be holding a Covered Bridge Festival sometime in late 2003. This is really excellent news! Kings County is home to 16 of New Brunswick's historic covered bridges. It was just announced last week that the covered bridge shaped tourism centre will be built at Coles Island at the closest exit off the TCH for Sussex travellers. The Kings County Tourism Association (KCTA) arranged for this meeting on the proposed festival which brought in representatives from 20 surrounding communities. A suggested time for the festival could be in late July or in October when the leaves are starting to change. Similar festivals in the US attract millions of visitors who spend millions of dollars in local communities such as Parke County Illinois, which has the highest concentration of covered bridges in the world with 32 in total. The potential for the Sussex area is huge. 2002 highlights By the Editor [Posted 11.22.2002] It was back on May 27th of this year when Brent Wallace and Taya Foster got married inside the Darlings Island Covered Bridge. Our covered bridges are well known as kissing bridges but so much known for marriages although one may lead to the other. The Rev. Dan Austin from the Smithtown Baptist Church was the minister for this special and unique wedding location. As this bridge is by-passed by a nearby bridge they didn't have to dodge any traffic inside this 88 year old bridge. The reason why they got married in it goes back a number of years for them when they first dated they carved their names in the bridge. There is something about these bridges that lend themselves to romance and marriage. Another couple is planning to get hitched in 2003 on the very same bridge, Shari Coles and Heath Foley. 
Now Gone BridgeBy the Editor [Posted 11.22.2002] An old photo of the now gone bridge that was at a place called Fernmount that's now part of the Burpee Game Manangement Refuge off Route 10. The bridge was located on the Burpee Mill Stream on a road that went to the other side of French Lake. The bridge was removed in the 1980's. Photo courtesy of Myrtle Patriquen of Fredericton. NB's Bridges Featured On TV and in Print This Summer By the Editor [Posted 11.22.2002] New Brunswick's Covered Bridges have been getting quite a bit of positive media attention as of late. The latest was when CTV dropped by to shoot in front of the bridge for a Cross-Canada feature they were doing. Earlier there have been various stories in the local news paper in the province as well as an article in the July/August issue of Saltscapes Magazine. Earlier this year the Life TV Network in Canada named the province's covered bridges in it's top 10 list of the best Canadian road-trips to take.
 Artists conceptial drawing: 22 metres long, seven metres wide plus two metre walkway on 65 acres of land at Coles Island Money For Centre Comes Through! By the Editor [Posted 11.19.2002] Read the press release from the Atlantic Canada Opportunites Agency(ACOA) about the funding for the new Covered Bridge Centre to be built at Coles Island. Click here.
New Covered Bridge In Kings County By the Editor [Posted 11.18.2002] The Kings County Tourism Association which has been pressing for a Covered Bridge Tourism Information Centre to be built at the Sussex exit from the new highway to Moncton will be going ahead after all. The Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency (ACOA) will be giving the group $301,000 to help built this new tourism centre. The association has to raise an additional $150,000 which they have the majority of now which came from selling shares into the company. The building is eexpected to be finished by May of next year at the Coles Island exit 365. The reason that its needed according to the tourism association is that the new highway is robbing the Sussex area of 35% of its visitors now that it detours some 35 km's to the north of town. The Centre will hopefully re-direct more of them back down to Sussex. Covered Bridge Closure Angers Residents By the Editor [Posted 11.18.2002] The French Village Covered Bridge that spans the Hammond River on route 890 near Hampton has been closed off and on over the past few years for repairs to be done. The latest closure has been two months and counting forcing residents on the other side to make a long and winding detour back to Hampton if they want to get to Saint John via the 4 lane route 1. The residents have recently started a petition to get a replacement bridge built next to the covered one which would remain standing. The old bridge was built back in 1912 and it starting to show its age. Building a new modern bridge next to a covered one is nothing new, several years ago the province did just that at the nearby Darlings Island Covered Bridge. The gov't wanted to tear down the old single lane bridge but the residents resisted and now both bridges are standing side by side.
Covered Bridge Festival for NB? By the Editor [Posted 11.08.2002]
There is talk of holding a covered bridge festival in Kings County in the future to help tourism. Just recently Canada's Life Network featured the covered bridges of Kings County in a top 10 Candian Road trip series. A public meeting will be held on November 20th in the Sussex area to see how much support there is for such an event. The Kings County Tourism Association presidentRobert Alston is behind the concept of a week long event to celebrate the counties rich covered bridge heritage. Parke County Indiana holds a 10 day covered bridge event every year drawing tens of thousands of people to the county which is home to 32 bridges. Thousands of dollars is spent in the community as a result plus it promotes heritage awareness among the participants. (new windows will open for each of the links) Looking Back: Loss of a Covered Bridge 
By the Editor[Posted 11.04.2002]
It was on March 11th in 1998 when we lost the Bayard Bridge in Welsford to the early spring flood waters. The story on the loss of this covered bridge was even reported on "The National" on CBC TV with Peter Mansbridge. Here is what they reported: "The most historic casualty of this freak flood is this covered bridge, which once spanned the Nerepis River in southeastern New Brunswick. Washed from its foundations, it's now history. Its planks will be used to repair other covered bridges in the province. Armed Forces personnel spent the day patrolling the riverbanks, monitoring water levels. But the most life threatening risk was here, at the Musquash dam, built early this century. Seventy-five people downstream from the towering structure were told to leave early yesterday. Officials were worried about the very real threat the dam might burst. "CBC story 
Covered Bridge Book For KidsBy the Editor [Posted 11.04.2002]
There is a covered bridge book out there for kids. It's called simply "Covered Bridge" by Brian Doyle. The story centre's around character Hubbo O'Driscoll whose job it is to guard the local covered bridge. This book is a sequel to "Easy Avenue," which won the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year for Children award in 1989. But once you get through the first chapter (which is only four pages long) you'll forget the book's a sequel.
How To Protect Covered BridgesBy the Editor [Posted 11.04.2002] The historic and world famous Hartland Covered Bridge has a new heat detection system and water pipes in place to help protect it from fires. Yet the provinces other covered bridges remain vulnerable to arsonists, case in point is the burning of the nearby Keenan Covered Bridge which was burned by arsonists in eary May of 2001. According to Dept. of Transportation minister, Percy Mockler, the best defence against fires is for the community to keep a watchful eye on them and to possibly organize patrols.
Old Covered Bridge Postcards By the Editor [Posted 11.03.2002] Here are three old covered bridge postcards from the 1950-1960's featuring the Hartland bridge. 
New System in Place at HartlandBy the Editor [Posted 10.31.2002] Sprinklers and a heat detection system have been installed in the historic Hartland Covered Bridge thanks to the province of New Brunswick. The provincial government will be picking up the $100,000 fee for the piping and the Protectowire linear heat detector. This is something the town, and the mayor, Bruce MacLeod, has wanted for a long time, especially since last year when someone tried to burn down the bridge but he was luckily stopped, arrested. He is now serving jail time for a string of offences. Coles Island Covered Bridge Update By the Editor [Posted 10.31.2002]
Things aren't looking too good for the proposed Covered Bridge Tourism Centre tentatively set to be built at Coles Island near exit 365 off the TCH. Since the completion of the new Fredericton to Moncton 4 lane highway last year there are fewer tourists stopping(- 30%) in Sussex, a.k.a. Dairy Town and the Covered Bridge capital of New Brunswick. The Kings County Tourism Association wants to build a Covered Bridge Tourism related Centre at Coles Island to help bring back some of the tourists who now detour 30 km's to the north of town.They still need to get $35,000 before they qualify for the ACOA grant money of $301,000. Since earlier this year the Kings County Tourism Association has been selling shares in the centre to interested individuals, groups, and businesses. 
Hartland Bridge Featured on CTVBy the Editor [Posted 10.30.2002] The Hartland Bridge was closed to traffic on October 30th in order for CTV to broadcast live from the bridge. A small crown of at least 50 people showed up on a sunny yet cold day(-2 C!). Jeff Hutchinson was the reporter on site, during the show's two hours, in between giving the weather, he talked to the town crier, Leonard Arthur, as well as to John Glass who wrote the historical book on the covered bridge. He also met some women who made a quilt with various scenes of the bridge. As well a chef, Richard Boulier from Hatfield House, was in attendance who served up some lobster and fiddleheads(Joyce Davis). A band, Glamour Puss, was in attendance to provide some entertainment on this cold windy day too. A local women's choir was also in attendance to provide some musical entertainment. Covered Bridges to be Watched By the Editor [Posted 10.30.2002]
On Halloween the province's remaining 64 covered bridges will be watched over by police dept's, concerned citizens and the Dept. of Transportation. what they are watching for is arsonists. Just last year we lost two covered bridges in New Brunswick. The Mundleville Bridge was lost in February, its cause is still under investigation but its thought to be electrical in nature. The Keenan bridge however was more than likely the result of an arsonist who has yet to be caught. We also almost lost the Hartland bridge(longest in the world) and the Stormdale bridge due to the act of one person(see below story). He was luckily caught in time before the bridges could be torched. This year DOT will be stationing employees at the more remote bridges and the RCMP will be keeping a close eye on suspecious people. We have been lucky so far this year, no bridges have been lost or damaged and we want to keep it that way.
NB's Newest Covered BridgeBy the Editor [Posted 10.28.2002] New Brunswick's newest covered bridge was built in the Acadian Village, located near Caraquet, back in 1999. Its located right in the historical village, $10 entrance fee.See Photo. Old Keenan Bridge Was Haunted! 
By the Editor[Posted 10.25.2002]
For as long as the Keenan Covered Bridge stood, it housed ghosts 
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 45 River Covered Bridge, Fundy National Park. |
Covered Bridge Week A Success
Flooding Threatens Covered Bridges
New Roofs For The Bridges
Covered Bridge Painting Auction
In them you can see the ghostly image of a face is captured in the burning rubble. It's barely discernible, but it has everyone talking about the haunting. In the past people have seen a lady in black on the bridge.
