Use and restoration Sonestown Covered Bridge

underside of bridge, riprap (large rocks) protecting west abutment

in 19th century sonestown covered bridge survived major floods on march 1, 1865 , june 1, 1889, destroyed other bridges in west branch susquehanna river valley. latter flood caused same storm system caused johnstown flood, killed on 2,200 people. in 1885, williamsport , north branch railroad line along muncy creek reached sonestown, passing east of bridge. railroad carried lumber, coal, , passengers until closed in 1938.

the covered bridge built provide access gristmill, , 1915 state highway map of sullivan county shows mill downstream of bridge on east bank of muncy creek. 1941 map (using data 1939) no longer shows water-powered mill there, although show 2 buildings on east bank of creek, 1 upstream , 1 downstream of bridge. both of these buildings had disappeared 1999. nrhp form states bridge had been repaired in 1969, , additional maintenance work needed. repairs done @ time included replacing of siding panels, reinforcing abutments concrete, , minor addition of steel truss structure .

in january 1996, there major flooding throughout pennsylvania. blizzard january 6–8 produced 40 inches (100 cm) of snow, followed on january 19–21 by more 3 inches (76 mm) of rain temperatures high 62 °f (17 °c) , winds 38 miles per hour (61 km/h). rain , snowmelt caused flooding throughout pennsylvania, , ice jams made flooding worse on many streams. in neighboring lycoming county, flooding on lycoming creek in , near williamsport killed 6 , caused millions of dollars in damage, , ice jam on plunketts creek destroyed mid-19th century stone arch bridge on nrhp.

the covered bridge seen new bridge in august 2006, muddy water erosion prevention work being done upstream in muncy creek.

the pressure of flood on sonestown covered bridge moved center of structure 1 foot (0.30 m) downstream. , other major damage closed bridge january until late december, 1996. 1 of 69 publicly owned bridges in pennsylvania destroyed or closed flooding. sullivan county owns bridge , paid repair, mandated state since listed on nrhp. original bid $93,000, , repair done lycoming supply inc. of williamsport $89,000 over 60 days between mid-november , christmas. bridge s closure caused 5-mile (8 km) detour used bridge reach homes , businesses.

even after repair completed, vehicles heavier or larger bridge’s original limits not use it. since beer trucks not cross it, deliveries american legion post southeast of bridge made hand cart instead. on november 12, 2000, new veterans memorial bridge downstream of covered bridge dedicated. new bridge part of champion hill road (township road 310), , allows vehicles cross muncy creek.

according nbi data, covered bridge restored in 2001. in september 2004, flooding hurricane ivan followed heavy rains in april 2005 made hole in 1 of covered bridge s abutments , weakened structural support. repair work took 6 weeks , done mid-august 2005. august of same year saw placement of riprap , fill in creek further protect abutments, work done rexer s drilling , concrete of dushore $9,250. erosion in september 2004 had destroyed house 200 feet (61 m) upstream of bridge, sullivan county commissioners planned additional work stabilize creek bed , prevent further erosion damage. work, on private property , requiring permission pennsylvania department of environmental protection, done in summer of 2006.

a tree in north side of bridge , other flood damage remnants of tropical storm lee in september 2011.

the nrhp form describes bridge s condition fair in 1969 and in 1980. zacher s 1994 book , evans 2001 book listed in condition. despite , repairs , restoration, 2006 federal highway administration national bridge inventory found sufficiency rating of bridge structure 18.6 percent. found bridge s foundations stable scour conditions (the potential stream washing them out), railing not meet acceptable standards . overall condition deemed intolerable requiring high priority of corrective action , estimated cost improve bridge of $108,000.

in 1996 there tradition of decorating , lighting sonestown bridge christmas. average daily traffic on bridge 50 vehicles in 2006. of 2016, still used , remaining covered bridge on muncy creek, although muncy creek watershed had lairdsville covered bridge, spanned little muncy creek in lycoming county. according zacher, sullivan county bridges, because of settings, of attractive in state .

the bridge damaged when muncy creek flooded on 12 inches (300 mm) of rainfall caused tropical storm lee on september 7, 2011.