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St. Peter's

Buskirk Covered Bridge

Washington County, NY

  • Capabilities

    Civil Engineering, Historic Preservation

  • Markets

    Transportation

Buskirk Bridge is a one-lane, 14-panel, patented, Howe-truss structure covered bridge with a total length of about 160 feet. The bridge connects Washington and Rensselaer Counties. It was built in 1850 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Reinforcement and replacement work had been done over the years. Despite this work, deterioration and damage continued. The bridge was closed to traffic because of cracks, deterioration, and fire damage.

Ryan Biggs | Clark Davis was retained to perform a preliminary structural assessment. We developed recommendations and preliminary costs for rehabilitation and repairs. Our study was incorporated into a Historic Structures Report. We were again retained to design rehabilitations and provide inspection services. The project was coordinated with NYSDOT, SHPO, NYSDEC, and the US Department of the Interior.

Buskirks Bridge
Buskirks Bridge

The superstructure rehabilitation included a complete deck replacement, replacement of all spruce floor beams with glulam floor beams, and complete replacement of the spruce bottom chord timbers and truss rods. The substructure work included soil grouting beneath the concrete-faced stone abutments and riprap installation to reduce scour vulnerability and foundation concerns.

The bridge was reopened to carry trucks up to 15 tons.

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