The Wakefield covered bridge crosses the Gatineau River in the municipality of La Peche, Quebec, north of Gatineau. It is one of the more widely photographed covered bridges in the province, partly because of its red siding and riverside setting, and partly because the structure standing today is a careful reconstruction rather than the original span.
The original crossing
A covered bridge stood at this location for much of the twentieth century, carrying local road traffic across the river. Like most Quebec covered bridges, it used a wooden truss protected by a pitched roof and board siding. The original structure was destroyed by fire in 1984, leaving the community without the crossing that had become a local landmark.
How a Howe truss carries the load
The bridge is framed as a Howe truss, a system patented in the United States in the 1840s and widely adopted across northeastern North America. In a Howe truss the diagonal members are timber and run toward the centre, while the vertical members are iron rods that can be tightened.
- Timber diagonals take compression as the deck is loaded.
- Iron verticals take tension and can be re-tensioned over time.
- Top and bottom chords run the length of each span, tying the panels together.
The adjustable iron rods are the practical advantage of the Howe design: as timber dries, shrinks or settles, crews can take up slack rather than rebuild joinery. That made it a sensible choice for bridges that had to be maintained for decades with simple tools.
The covering is not structural. The truss does the work; the roof and siding exist to keep that truss dry. When a covered bridge is restored, much of the visible material can be new while the load path stays the same.
A community reconstruction
Rather than replace the lost bridge with a conventional modern span, the community pursued a faithful rebuild. The reconstruction effort, carried out in the 1990s, drew on local volunteers and supporters and produced the timber covered bridge that stands today. It functions as a pedestrian crossing and a heritage feature rather than a primary vehicle route.
| Location | La Peche (Wakefield), Quebec |
|---|---|
| Crosses | Gatineau River |
| Truss type | Howe truss |
| Original loss | Destroyed by fire, 1984 |
| Present structure | Reconstructed in the 1990s |
Why it matters for preservation
The Wakefield bridge is often cited as an example of reconstruction rather than conservation. The original fabric is gone, so the value lies in the form, the truss type and the role the bridge plays in the community, rather than in original timbers. That distinction matters to heritage practitioners, who treat a faithful rebuild differently from a surviving original.