These are pics that Av and Leslie and I made in 2002 when we visited the covered bridges in Blount County, Alabama (I was playing around with b&w film). The most impressive one is this one, Swann Bridge, built in 1933 — it’s the it’s the longest, at 300+’, of all the surviving covered bridges in the state.
All the covered bridges in the county have been closed for a couple of years, and restoration has just begun.
With the decking up, what is truly remarkable is that there is virtually no rot or decay on unpainted wood that has spanned the river for almost 80 years. Friedberg said that the heart pine wood they used came from trees that had grown slowly for hundreds of years. To get wood that is comparable, the company will have to special order it and have it treated.
“You can’t just go to Lowe’s and get this type of wood,” he said.