Cottage Grove, the "Covered Bridge Capital of Oregon", is located in the middle of western Oregon and in the southern part of Lane County. Six of the covered bridges in Lane County are located in or around the City of Cottage Grove - Centennial Bridge, Chambers Railroad Bridge, Currin Bridge, Dorena Bridge, Mosby Creek Bridge and Stewart Bridge.
Cottage Grove is located on Interstate 5 which is the region's major north-south interstate highway. Cottage Grove is approximately 20 miles from the major population center of the area (Eugene-Springfield) and serves an immediate labor market of approximately 35,000 people.
Location:
Exit I-5 at Cottage Grove. Travel south on Highway 99 to Harrison Avenue. Turn west on Harrison to Old River Road. Turn south on Old River Road. Chambers RR is off of Old River Road just south of Harrison.
Background:
The Chambers Bridge is the last covered railroad bridge in Oregon. It was built by the Oregon, Pacific and Eastern Railroad for a logging spur which brought logs to the Frank Chambers Mill in Cottage Grove.
Location:
Travel one mile east of Cottage Grove on Row River Road. Follow the sign to Mosby Creek Road by turning right, and crossing the railroad track. Turn left on Mosby Creek Road and travel southeast two miles to the bridge. Alternately, from Currin Bridge continue southwest on Layng Road to Mile Point 0.2 to Mosby Creek Bridge.
Background:
The Mosby Creek Bridge is Lane County’s oldest covered bridge, having been built in 1920 at a cost of $4,125 by Walter and Miller Sorenson.
Location:
Travel one mile east of Cottage Grove on Row River Road. Follow the sign to Mosby Creek Road, turning right and crossing the railroad tracks. Turn left (south) on Mosby Creek Road and travel approximately 3.5 miles to Garoutte Road.
Background:
As with other wooden bridges in Oregon, the Stewart Bridge has had its share of woes. Heavy rains of the 1964 "Christmas Flood" brought water raging down Mosby Creek with the resulting force cracking the lower chords of the bridge.
Location:
Travel four miles southeast of Cottage Grove on Row River Road to the intersection of Layng Road. The bridge crosses the Row River at this location and is located one mile from the Mosby Creek Bridge, also on Layng Road.
Location:
Travel five miles east of Cottage Grove on Row River Road to the junction of Government Road. Continue east on Government Road seven miles to the bridge.
Background:
When Dorena Dam was built in 1946, plans were made to span the Row River at the upper end of the reservoir. Government Road along the west bank was completed in 1949, and the Dorena Bridge was built a year later, after the reservoir was filled, at a cost of $16,547.
