Visit Ohio’s Newest Covered Bridge in Holmes County

When driving along a winding country road, there are plenty of charming scenes that garner a peek out the window: cows grazing in meadows, a lone silo set against the backdrop of a brilliant sunset and quaint farmhouses tucked among rolling hills. Though many would agree, one of the most unique sights to see (and drive through) is a covered bridge.

Ohio is home to several covered bridges, including the nation’s longest covered bridge, located in Ashtabula, and the shortest covered bridge in the United States, located in Geneva. But one of the newest additions to our state’s impressive lineup is the Spellacy Covered Bridge, which can be found along the Wally Road Scenic Byway. 

The byway runs the entirety of Wally Road, from northern Ashland County to southern Knox County. But the 300-foot-long Spellacy Covered Bridge is found in Holmes County, tucked among scenic campgrounds with the Mohican River running beneath it.

The road, which is built on the path of a former railway, was constructed by engineer Matthew Spellacy, for whom the new covered bridge is named. Completed in 2023, the bridge was a labor of love for Holmes County engineer Chris Young and his team.

“Residents are proud of it and the visitors are amazed at how beautiful it is,” says Young, who has been county engineer since 2003.

Since its completion, the bridge has won several awards, including two from the Engineering-News Record: the National Best of the Best award in the small project category and the Midwest Best Project award, also in the small project category. The ceremony for the Engineering News-Record awards takes place March 27 in New York City. 

RELATED: Ohio Road Trips: Covered Bridges

The need for a new bridge began in 2015, when Young and his team noted the deterioration of the former, non-covered bridge during an inspection. The narrow width of the bridge made it difficult for use by travelers hauling large trailers to one of the many campgrounds in the region.

Both of these elements prompted Young and his team to apply for federal funding to build a new bridge. But they wanted to take it a step further by designing a covered bridge that would serve a functional purpose while also serving as a nod to the region’s history.

Young and his team brought in John Smolen to design the bridge. Smolen has designed several bridges in Ashtabula County, including the 613-foot Smolen-Gulf Bridge. In 2020, the Westerville-based Kokosing Construction Co. came aboard as part of a team of several organizations who helped make the bridge a reality.  

“It was a pretty good teamwork effort between Kokosing, my office, [the Ohio Department of Transportation], Smolen Engineering, OHM Advisors and Palmer Engineering,” Young says. “Each company had a different role in the project and we worked together.”

Work began on the bridge the Monday after Labor Day in 2022, and almost a year later to the day, the bridge was complete, welcoming people traveling by car, bike and foot to enjoy the new addition to the road.

“It enhances the beauty of the whole region,” Young says. “We have cameras on the bridge and every day someone comes and looks at it.”

For more information about the bridge and its accolades, visit ohm-advisors.com.

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