Rapps Dam Road bridge reopens
Covered bridge damaged by truck for second time
EAST PIKELAND » The historic Rapps Dam Road covered bridge over French Creek has reopened, PennDOT announced.
The bridge was closed for about a week for repairs after it was struck by a truck on March 29.
PennDOT crews will return in the coming weeks to perform additional work to further repair and restore the historic covered bridge.
In 2014, a similar crash left the bridge with significant damage when the driver of a 13-foot high tractor-trailer attempted to drive through the covered bridge that, according to signs posted on the roads leading up to the structure, can only accommodate vehi-
cles up to 10 feet high. The bridge was closed for more than year in that incident.
Built in 1866, the Rapps Dam Road covered bridge was reconstructed in 1978 and 2011, and underwent major repairs in 2015 after it was severely damaged when struck by a tractor trailer. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the structure is 106 feet long and 14 feet wide.
The bridge carries an average of 3,600 vehicles a day.
For more information on projects occurring or being bid this year, those made possible by or accelerated by Act 89, or those on the department’s Four and Twelve Year Plans, visit www.projects.penndot.gov.
A list of weekly road restrictions and PennDOT maintenance operations in the five-county Philadelphia region is available by visiting the District 6 Traffic Bulletin at www.penndot. gov/District6.
Motorists can check
conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA. com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 850 traffic cameras.
511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 511, or by following regional twitter alerts accessible on the 511PA website.