This is the longest surviving covered bridge in Columbia County. It features a Burr Arch Design and spans the Fishing Creek at a length of 185 feet. The bridge is located on Train road approximately 2/10th of a mile off of route 42 off off state route 4001. The bridge was built in 1847 by Jesse W. Beard and is named for the nearby village of Rupert. It was extensively upgraded and preserved 2000-2001 to a Design by the Larson Design Group at a reported cost of $1.3 million which included a completely new support structure underneath to improve the stability of the bridge.
It’s very easy to find and there is ample parking right next to the bridge. There is also a train bridge running across the creek to the left. The Covered Bridge is owned by Columbia County and it open to vehicular traffic. It is WGCB bridge # 38-19-33.
Part of my nine covered bridge blitz through Columbia County on Saturday 5-16-2009 while dodging the rain. I shot this as five RAW bracketed frames then converted it to an HDR (High Dynamic Range) image using Photomatix Pro.
There is an excellent covered bridge tour map in the form of a printable PDF offering two loops that cover all 25 covered bridges in Columbia and Montour counties available here
