The Van Tran Flat Bridge (also known as the Motts Flats Bridge, the Livingston Manor Covered Bridge, or the Van Tran Bridge) is a

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

en, single span

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

that crosses

Willowemoc Creek Willowemoc Creek is a tributary of Beaver Kill. It is a popular trout fishing stream near the Catskill Park in Sullivan County, New York.Francis, Austin M., ''Catskill Rivers: Birthplace of American Fly Fishing,'' Nick Lyons Press (1983) Ch. 9. ...

in the town of Rockland, in

Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in th ...

. The bridge was built in 1860 by John Davidson and features a town lattice truss and a laminated arch system. This makes the Van Tran Flat Bridge the oldest surviving covered bridge in Sullivan County. The bridge was closed and abandoned in 1972, but restoration began in 1984 and reopened the next year. The Van Tran Flat Bridge is a disputed in length, and leads to Livingston Manor Covered Bridge County Park.

Description

The Van Tran Flat Bridge is a wooden, single span

located outside of

Livingston Manor, New York Livingston Manor is a hamlet (and a census-designated place) in Sullivan County, New York, United States. The population was 1,053 at the 2020 census. Livingston Manor is located in the southern part of the town of Rockland. New York State Ro ...

. Its assigned covered bridge number is NY-53-05. The bridge was constructed from timber and followed a similar design to other bridges in the Catskill region. This bridge features a town lattice truss and a laminated arch system. The total weight capacity is , the clear width is , the out-to-out width is , and the vertical clearance is . The sides are made of wood, have an opening under their

eaves The eaves are the edges of the roof which overhang the face of a wall and, normally, project beyond the side of a building. The eaves form an overhang to throw water clear of the walls and may be highly decorated as part of an architectural sty ...

, and at each end of the bridge there are 4

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es spanning the height of the bridge. The two openings to the bridge are uniform with each other and the

gable stone Gable stones () are carved and often colourfully painted stone tablets, which are set into the walls of buildings, usually at about 4 metres from the ground. They serve both to identify and embellish the building. They are also called "stone tabl ...

s have a flat,

chamfer A chamfer ( ) is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fur ...

ed design. The roof is made of metal. The north-facing

abutment An abutment is the substructure at the ends of a bridge span or dam supporting its superstructure. Single-span bridges have abutments at each end that provide vertical and lateral support for the span, as well as acting as retaining walls ...

is made of stone and concrete, while the south-facing abutment is made of concrete. The exact dimensions of the bridge are disputed amongst sources. Two accounts from 1952 and 1974 claim the bridge is in length and across. The New York State Covered Bridge Society claims the bridge is 117 ft length, the originally reported length when constructed. Sullivan County claims the bridge is in length.

Associated locations

The Van Tran Flat Bridge leads to the Livingston Manor Covered Bridge Park, and is located adjacent to the original homestead of

Nobel laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

Dr. John Mott.

History

The Van Tran Flat Bridge (originally named the Motts Flats Bridge, later referred to as the Livingston Manor Covered Bridge or the Van Tran Bridge) was first constructed in 1860 by John Davidson to cross the

. This was an extension of Covered Bridge Road in the town of Rockland, in

. The Van Tran Flat Bridge was constructed 5 years before the Beaverkill Covered Bridge, also built by John Davidson. This makes the Van Tran Flat Bridge the oldest of the 4 covered bridges in Sullivan County still standing. Describing the original proposal for the bridge, the Youngsville ''Local Record''

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

recounted: In 1925, the bridge suffered minor damage in a flood. During this time, the bridge was bypassed by

New York State Route 17 New York State Route 17 (NY 17) is a major state highway that extends for through the Southern Tier and Downstate New York, Downstate regions of New York (state), New York in the United States. It begins at the New York–Pennsylvani ...

.Republican Watchman (Monticello), January 2, 1925. On August 26, 1940, the Van Tran Flat Bridge's decking was damaged by a loaded truck when it veered off the bridge into the Willowemoc Creek. Repair of the bridge involved $437.75 worth of materials and $174.80 in labor, with 8 workers being responsible for the repairs. Some time after 1958, the bridge's dry-laid stone

s were refaced with concrete. In 1972, the bridge was closed and abandoned. In 1984, the Sullivan County's Department of Public Works, in conjunction with Milton S. Graton, began restoring the bridge using original construction techniques. The work included replacement of the

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as Beam (structure), beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so ...

, chords, floor, roof, and

treenail A treenail, also trenail, trennel, or trunnel, is a wooden peg, pin, or dowel used to fasten pieces of wood together, especially in timber frames, covered bridges, wooden shipbuilding and boat building. It is driven into a hole bored through tw ...

s, along with removal of the original queenpost truss. A decision was also made to increase the bridge's load limit, which was achieved by the addition of laminated arches. The bridge was reopened in November 1985. Today, the bridge is owned and maintained by

, and is open to cars. The New York State Covered Bridge Society has classified the Van Tran Flat Bridge as one of 24 "authentic" historic covered bridges in the state of New York. The placard next to the bridge claims it is on both the State and

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

Gallery

File:VAN TRAN FLAT BRIDGE.jpg, Front view of the Van Tran Flat Bridge File:VAN TRAN FLAT COVERED BRIDGE.jpg, Side view of the Van Tran Flat Covered Bridge, taken from the bank of the

Notes

References