They've got surveilance covered in Madison County
By Elyse Andrews, USA TODAY

Those covered, wooden bridges of Madison County, the ones made famous by a best-selling book more than a decade ago, were covered for a reason: to protect them from weather damage.

Now engineers at Iowa State University are working to shelter them from vandalism by using high-tech surveillance.
Robert James Waller popularized the bridges, located southwest of Des Moines, in his 1992 book, The Bridges of Madison County. The book was made into a 1995 movie starring Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep and features many of the real-life bridges.

There were once 19 bridges in Madison County. Only five remain, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Several have been vandalized in recent years, and researchers at Iowa State are developing remote monitoring devices to prevent further damage.

In September 2002, the 1883 Cedar Covered Bridge, which is featured in the book, was destroyed by an arsonist just before the annual Madison County Covered Bridge Festival. The bridge was rebuilt using the original plans and authentic materials, but county residents were devastated that a piece of their history had been destroyed.

"Everyone was stunned," says Debbie Zacharias, who works at the Madison County Historical Museum. "It was kind of like losing a member of our society. It's something you think will always be there."

The 1884 Hogback Covered Bridge was damaged in a fire about a year after the Cedar Bridge burned. "People around here respect the bridges," Zacharias says. "It would be nice to find the person who did this, to close this chapter on the bridge."

The Iowa State team received $126,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Product Laboratory to develop and install a monitoring system for one of the bridges. After that, county officials will assess the benefits and decide if it should be installed on the remaining bridges.

"I think it would help," says Scott Schabacker, secretary-treasurer of the Iowa Fire Chiefs Association. "Any extra early warning would most definitely be beneficial."

The system is in three parts:
•Flame detection. These devices will detect ultraviolet light, infrared light and the flicker rate as light frequencies change. Project manager Brent Phares says the devices will recognize different light signatures, whether from a flame or a person, if activity is taking place on the bridge.
•Infrared cameras. This camera detects heat rather than light and will be able to photograph people on the bridge even at night. The cameras are also capable of detecting a heat flash if a fire is started.
•Fiber-optic strain gauges. These will be imbedded to react to changes in temperature.

The partnership between Iowa State and Madison County seemed like a perfect fit to both Phares and Madison County engineer Todd Hagan. Iowa State had been doing work in the area of timber bridges, and Phares had been researching remote monitoring. "I think we are very fortunate that (the collaboration) happened," Hagan says.

This technology has been designed for the outdoors. Because the system has multiple sensing devices, it will not require any human interaction once installed. Law enforcement and Iowa State officials will automatically be notified if a disturbance is detected.

The researchers plan to have the work done on the first bridge by summer's end. They will test the system by staging mock arson and vandalism scenarios with law enforcement officials.

The bridges in Madison County and elsewhere were built as covered structures to protect the floors. It was considered cheaper to build walls and a roof than to replace the large flooring timbers.

The covered bridges have always been important to Madison County, says Chris Nolte, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. He says the movie made them a tourist attraction, drawing thousands of visitors to the area every year.

"They are something that people appreciate and enjoy," Nolte says. "They represent old-world craftsmanship and stability."

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