More than four years after a tractor-trailer disabled the historic Speakman Covered Bridge in West Marlborough and East Fallowfield townships, PennDOT said repairs are beginning this week.
In a press release, the department said the contractor, Eastern Highway Specialists, Inc. of Wilmington, will work for the next nine months to rehabilitate the historic covered bridge’s sidewalls, roof and cross timber support members. It will also replace the support abutments and piers.
The contractor will save and re-use as much of the existing materials as possible. The bridge, which spans Buck Run on Frog Hollow Road, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was closed to traffic after sustaining severe structural damage when a tractor-trailer struck it in November 2011.
During construction, which is weather-dependent, motorists will continue to follow the posted detour of DuPont Road, Route 82, Buck Run Road, and Strasburg Road. Local access will be maintained up to the bridge. Motorists are advised to continue to allow extra time when traveling through the area.
Originally built in 1881, the Speakman Covered Bridge is 15 feet wide and 75 feet long. It carried an average of 337 vehicles a day prior to its closure. Its rehabilitation, expected to be completed in the fall of 2016, will cost $1.9 million and is being financed entirely with federal funds, the release said.
The Speakman Covered Bridge is the third of three covered bridges in Chester County to be repaired as part of PennDOT’s $3,201,562 covered bridge improvement project. Construction began last August to repair the Rapps Dam Covered Bridge in East Pikeland Township; it reopened in October. Crews began work on the Knox Covered Bridge in Valley Forge National Historical Park in September, a project expected to be completed in the spring, the release said.
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