Wooddale Bridge

Wooddale Bridge is a covered bridge over Red Clay Creek at Wooddale in New Castle County, Delaware. It is one of three covered bridges in the state of Delaware along with the very similar Ashland Covered Bridge and the Smith Bridge.[2] It and the Ashland bridge remain, of the thirteen bridges along the Red Clay Creek that were marked on an 1868 map.[3]

Wooddale Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Wooddale Bridge, 1982
Location	Foxhill Ln. over Red Clay Creek, Wooddale, Delaware
Coordinates	39.76593°N 75.63681°W
Area	less than one acre
Built	c. 1850
Architectural style	Covered bridge
NRHP reference No.	73000552[1]
Added to NRHP	April 11, 1973

The reconstructed bridge in 2015

Style

The Wooddale Bridge is a Town lattice truss bridge following a design by Ithiel Town and is approximately 72 feet (22 m) long.[4] It originally sat on mortared rough-cut stone abutments, with rock-slab-capped poured concrete guard walls. The floor of the bridge was diagonal planking, with vertical boarding on the sides that had square window openings to expose the white painted truss on either side.[5]

History

Plaque near the Covered Bridge installed after completion of the reconstructed bridge.

The original bridge was built about 1850 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1]

It was destroyed by flooding from Tropical Storm Henri in 2003.[6] The bridge was rebuilt by the Delaware Department of Transportation in 2007–8 with design modifications to make it more flood-resistant.[2] The bridge reopened on December 15, 2008 after it was rebuilt using Bongossi wood and the roadway was raised five feet to protect against future floods and the openings enlarged. In total the rebuilding and road work was $3.374 million USD.[7]

The bridge became a geocaching location in 2011.[8]

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. Porter, Ira (December 18, 2008). "Wooddale bridge work complete". The News Journal. p. B3. ProQuest 275197716.
3. pls4e (2018-07-16). "Wooddale Covered Bridge". SAH ARCHIPEDIA. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
4. Edward Heite (June 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Wooddale Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
5. White, Warren H. (2003). Covered Bridges in the Southeastern United States: A Comprehensive Illustrated Catalog. United States: McFarland Publishing. ISBN 978-0786415366.
6. Miller, Beth (September 16, 2003). "Flash floods soak region as Isabel heads for coast". The News Journal. p. A1. ProQuest 274980146.
7. "Wooddale Covered Bridge reconstruction complete". Hockessin Community News. Retrieved 2020-10-11.
8. Geocaching. "Geocaching - Wooddale Bridge - Red Clay Creak". www.geocaching.com. Retrieved 2020-04-12.