America’s Shortest Covered Bridge

With its nineteen covered bridges, it comes as no surprise that Ashtabula County, Ohio has both the longest covered bridge in the country as well as the shortest.

Welcome to the West Liberty Covered Bridge in Geneva, Ohio. It was opened in 2011, a logical solution to a simple problem – a culvert in town required replacing and they decided to use a covered bridge style to add to their booming tourism industry.

It was designed by former Ashtabula County Engineer John Smolen who also co- designed the Smolen-Gulf Bridge which is the nation’s longest covered bridge. That’s quite a resume for Mr Smolen!

I will admit that I nearly choked on my bubble gum when I read the $400,000 price tag. According to the local paper, the cost of this bridge was comparable to a more traditional bridge but its still shocking what it costs to build roads and bridges.

There’s a parking lot right next to the bridge so it’s easy to pull over for pictures.