Once a symbol of early American achievement, submerged under more than 50 feet of water over a century later, a piece of Pennsylvania history is now bone dry.
The Great Crossings Bridge opened to great fanfare in 1818, crossing the Youghiogheny River, now the county line between Fayette and Somerset counties half an hour down U.S. Route 40 from Uniontown.
Then-President James Monroe attended the opening of the bridge on July 4, according to explorepahistory.com.
It was a key river crossing on the National Road between Cumberland, Md. and Wheeling, then in Virginia, now in West Virginia.
A village spawned along the banks of the Youghiogheny on the Somerset County side of the bridge. Somerfield had about 200 residents at its peak.
In the 1940’s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers undertook a flood control project, building a dam downstream at Confluence and buying out the residents of Somerfield and eight other towns upstream, according to Mountain Discoveries magazine.
Since then, the former village and the three arch sandstone bridge have normally been submerged under up to about 100 feet of water at the Youghiogheny River Lake’s fullest.
Every now and then, the lake recedes and the bridge partially emerges.
Though, as much of Pennsylvania experiences drought conditions — extreme in most of Fayette County — the bridge is entirely exposed and the landings on either side are dry. The Youghiogheny is down to levels rarely seen since the dam’s construction.
More than 10,000 people have come to see the bridge since early October, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District.
“Thousands of people have come to visit the bridge and their response has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Vince Klinkner, the supervisory natural resource manager at Youghiogheny River Lake.
With both sides of the bridge entirely exposed, the Army Corps of Engineers closed the bridge deck to the public citing safety concerns with the two century-old bridge.
“The district understands the enthusiasm surrounding this rare opportunity to view a piece of history that seldom emerges from the lake,” said Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the Pittsburgh District. “However, the safety of our visitors is our top priority. Given the bridge’s uncertain structural integrity, we have made the decision to restrict access to the bridge.”
Though, visitors can still check out the bridge — dozens stopped by late Saturday afternoon — as well as numerous foundations of Somerfield buildings still in the lakebed.
It’s just under a three hour drive from Harrisburg via either the Pennsylvania Turnpike or Interstate 68 through Maryland.
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