Stonelick Covered Bridge

The Stonelick Covered Bridge carries Stonelick Williams Corner Road over Stonelick Creek in Clermont County, Ohio.

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The Stonelick Covered Bridge, also known as the Perintown Covered Bridge, is a Howe through truss bridge that carries Stonelick Williams Corner Road (County Route 116) over Stonelick Creek in Clermont County, Ohio. Built in 1878, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The bridge underwent rehabilitation in 1971. ^{1 9}

A series of incidents led to the covered bridge’s general deterioration. In 1983, an overweight 17-ton garbage truck broke through the floor, and in 1991, the bridge sustained fire damage. ⁹ In 1997, an automobile accident damaged the structure further.

A creek bank revetment project was completed in 1999 to prevent erosion from undermining its substructure. ² In 2009, a restoration planning public meeting was held. ⁹

The bridge was closed to all traffic in May 2010 after an overweight truck severely damaged its floor and structural components. ³ Repairs and rehabilitation, including increasing the weight limit from three to 12 tons, were estimated to cost $1.2 million. After securing funding and approval, a bid request was issued in April 2013 with an updated project estimate of $720,000. [4] Smolen Engineering handled the design work. ¹

Construction began in October, ⁴ carried out by The Righter Company. ¹ Temporary steel falsework was installed under the bridge for structural support and as a work platform. ⁵ The project included replacing all siding and the roof, reinforcing structural elements, repointing and grouting stonework, and installing lighting and security systems. ^{5 6}

On February 11, 2014, the upper shell of the bridge unexpectedly collapsed into the riverbed during repair work. ^{7 8} No workers were seriously injured. After assessing the damage, the County and contractor decided to proceed with the restoration. The bridge was fully disassembled, and each component was inspected and either reused or replaced as needed. More than 57% of the original timber was salvaged and reintegrated. ⁹ Lastly, the exterior was repainted in the original barn red color.

The restored Stonelick Covered Bridge reopened to traffic on April 15, 2015. ⁹

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Details

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Sources

1. Bridge nameplate.
2. Schaeffer, Walt. “Clermont Co. Moving Creek to Save Bridge.” Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 Jan. 1999.
3. “Historic Stonelick Covered Bridge Now Closed Until 2012.” Clermont County, Ohio, 10 Jun. 2010.
4. “Bid Opening: Stonelick Williams Corner Covered Bridge Rehabilitation, Project No. CLE-CR116-1.12.” Clermont County, Ohio, 15 Apr. 2013.
5. “October 2013 Covered Bridge Progress.” Clermont County Engineer, 1 Nov. 2013.
6. “September 2013 Covered Bridge Progress.” Clermont County Engineer, 17 Sept. 2013.
7. Wiechert, Brian. “Historic Stonelick Twp. Bridge Collapses During Rehabilitation.” FOX 19, 12 Feb. 2014.
8. Alter, Maxim. “Portion of Historic Stonelick Covered Bridge Collapses, Next Steps to Be Determined.” WCPO, 2014.
9. “History Preserved.” Clermont County Engineer.