Pine Valley Covered Bridge

The Pine Valley Covered Bridge is a town truss covered bridge, which was originally built in 1842.

The Pine Valley Covered Bridge was completed in 1842 and is the second-oldest covered bridge in Bucks County. It crosses Pine Creek Run in New Britain Township.

More than a few times, the bridge over the Pine Run Creek was targeted by arsonists, and it also survived several run-ins with trucks. Bucks County has spent expensive time refurbishing the bridge, making it not only one of its most picturesque covered bridges, but also one of its most well-built.

Pine Valley Covered Bridge is believed to date back to 1842 when the county built the bridge in New Britain Borough in an area known as Iron Hill. The bridge was near an arterial road, Butler Pike, which was serviced by the much-longer Whitehall Covered Bridge (demolished in 1924).

Somehow, the Pine Valley Covered Bridge survived a fire in 1911, and a near decision by the state to consider it for demolition in 1924. By the 1950s, the area around the bridge saw new suburban housing developments. Nearby, a new park, called Covered Bridge Park, became a popular recreation area.

On July 4, 1968, an arsonist set fire to the bridge in two locations at 3:30 a.m. Local firefighters were able to save the span. In 1985, a community development grant helped support a $320,000 rehabilitation project, making the bridge capable of supporting heavy vehicular traffic. That became necessary in 2007 when a truck took out part of the bridge in a hit-and-run accident.