Wayfarrow

Red Covered Bridge

Covered bridge · Bureau County, Illinois

Red Covered Bridge and its approach with white guardrails at Big Bureau Creek north of Princeton in Bureau County, Illinois
Red Covered Bridge and its approach with white guardrails at Big Bureau Creek north of Princeton in Bureau County, Illinois · User:Majnutl / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.5

Red Covered Bridge is a covered bridge in Bureau County, Illinois, described in its record as wooden bridge in Bureau County, Illinois. Illinois has 12 covered bridges on record at Wayfarrow, 2 of them in Bureau County.

It was built in 1863, in the Civil War era, making it the 2nd oldest of the 9 in Illinois with a recorded construction date; it crosses Big Bureau Creek; it is about 149 feet long.

Status check, 2026-11: Closed since a semi-truck hit it in November 2023. A $1.25M two-phase IDOT repair began in fall 2026, and all work is due to finish by June 2027. Red Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands at 41.4164° N, 89.4784° W.

Key facts

Current structure built1863
CrossesBig Bureau Creek
Length149 ft
Heritage designationNational Register of Historic Places listed place
National RegisterListed
Coordinates41.41639, -89.47842

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Nearby places

Questions

Where is Red Covered Bridge?

Red Covered Bridge is in Bureau County, Illinois, at 41.4164, -89.4784.

How many covered bridges are in Bureau County?

Bureau County, Illinois has 2 covered bridges on record at Wayfarrow.

Sources and licences

Facts marked "approximately" carry an uncertain date in the source. Text on this page is generated from the sources above; no encyclopedia prose is copied. Last updated 2026-11-05.