User:Ruhrfisch/Buttonwood

The Buttonwood Covered Bridge is a covered bridge built in either 1878 or 1898 over Blockhouse Creek in Jackson Township, Lycoming County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It uses a queen post with king post truss and is 74 ft long. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and had a major restoration in 1998. It is the shortest and most heavily used of the three covered bridges remaining in Lycoming County.

Overview
Location of bridge (1st paragraph)

Brief history of the valley it is in, with emphasis on the village and creek and the names of the bridge (Buttonwood and Blockhouse). STart with Tioga Path, which was later followed by the Williamson Road (articles on each), leading to settlement in the area and the Blockhouse at Liberty (hence the creek name). Establishment of Jackson Township and brief description of village of Buttonwood. Probably second paragraph on native path, settler road, Blockhouse and creek name, third paragraph on twp and Buttonwood and that name.

Background
Similar to background in other FA covered bridge articles - explain Queenpost truss versus kingpost and Burr arch here too

Construction and description
Include Landis article material here on the 1878 bridge - petition to build it, trick played on illiterate builder, 1889 flood and bridge's first reconstruction. Have to address the whole 1878 vs 1898 deal here. Describe bridge as it is today.

Restoration and use
Include Route 15 using bridge into the 1930s (Wellsboro paper), convicts repairs, major restoration, etc.

Dimensions
The following table is a comparison of published measurements of length, width and load recorded in different sources using different methods, as well as the structural type cited. The NBI measures bridge length between the "backwalls of abutments" or pavement grooves and the roadway width as "the most restrictive minimum distance between curbs or rails". The NRHP form measures length from "end post to end post", and was prepared by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), which surveyed county engineers, historical and covered bridge societies, and others for all the covered bridges in the commonwealth. . The Evans visited every covered bridge in Pennsylvania in 2001 and measured each bridge's length (portal to portal) and width (at the portal) for their book. The data in Zacher's book was based on a 1991 survey of all covered bridges in Pennsylvania by the PHMC and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, aided by local government and private agencies. The article uses primarily the NBI and NRHP data, as they are national programs.

Note

 * a. The National Highway Administration established the sufficiency rating, which can vary from a low of 0 to a high of 100, as a way to prioritize federal funding for bridges. The rating is calculated for bridges over 20 ft long, based on "structural adequacy, whether the bridge is functionally obsolete, and level of service provided to the public". Federal funds are available for replacement of bridges with a rating of 50 or below, while those with a rating of 80 or below qualify for rehabilitation. In 2009, Pennsylvania had 22,280 bridges on the NBI, of which 43.8 percent were either structurally deficient (27.2 percent) or functionally obsolete (16.6 percent).