PennDOT Reopens Historic Speakman Covered Bridge in Chester County

PennDOT Reopens Historic Speakman Covered Bridge in Chester County

10/20/2016-KING OF PRUSSIA

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) this afternoon
reopened
the historic Speakman Covered Bridge over Buck Run on Frog Hollow Road in
West
Marlborough and East Fallowfield townships, Chester County, following the
completion of a $1.9 million rehabilitation project.

PennDOT's contractor worked the past 10 months to rehabilitate the covered
bridge's sidewalls, roof and cross timber support members: replace the
support
abutments: and remove two center piers. The contractor reused some
materials as
part of the rehabilitation of the covered bridge.

The covered bridge, which is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places, was closed to traffic after sustaining severe structural damage
from
being struck by a large vehicle in November 2011.

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.

The Speakman Covered Bridge is the third of three covered bridges in
Chester
County to be repaired by PennDOT as part of a $3,201,562 covered bridge
improvement project. Work began in August 2015 to repair the Rapps Dam
Covered
Bridge on Rapps Dam Road in East Pikeland Township and the bridge reopened
in
October 2015. The Knox Covered Bridge on Yellow Springs Road in Valley
Forge
National Historical Park and Tredyffrin Township, Chester County, went
under
construction in September 2015. Work on this bridge was completed in April
2016
and the bridge is expected to reopen in November following the completion
of a
sanitary sewer installation by Tredyffrin Township that was not associated
with
the project.

Eastern Highway Specialists, Inc. of Wilmington, Del. was the general
contractor on the project. The rehabilitation of the Knox Covered Bridge
and
Speakman Covered Bridge were financed with 100 percent federal funds. The
rehabilitation of the Rapps Dam Covered Bridge was financed with 80 percent

federal and 20 percent state funds.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway 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 770 traffic cameras.

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and
Android
devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts
accessible
on the 511PA website.

For more PennDOT information, visit www.penndot.gov. Follow local PennDOT
information on Twitter at www.twitter.com/511PAPhilly.

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