R Scott Bomboy
A historic covered bridge in Lenape Park in Perkasie Borough severely damaged in the flooding during Hurricane Ida in 2021 is on the path to return to public service.
Perkasie Borough has selected an engineering firm to oversee the return of its historic 1832 covered bridge to public service in Lenape Park.
On Sept. 3, 2024, Perkasie Borough Council awarded a contract to Wood Research and Development LLC, of Jefferson, Oregon and Jacksonville, Florida, for engineering and design consultation services for the rehabilitation of the South Perkasie Borough Covered Timber Bridge.
The contract award to Wood Research and Development was for $195,030, and it is fully funded by FEMA and other grants.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida in September 2021 swept the covered bridge off its abutments during historic flooding in Lenape Park. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) along with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) awarded grant funds in June 2023 for repairs to damage caused by the flooding. Prior to Hurricane Ida, the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission and the Perkasie Historical Society contributed funds to a project to rehabilitate the bridge.
Perkasie Borough Seven engineering companies made qualified proposals for the task of restoring Bucks County’s oldest covered bridge, during a two-month proposal process. The other companies were from Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Virginia. Perkasie Borough Council’s Historical Committee, with input from Borough management, selected Wood Research and Development using judging criteria required by FEMA. Borough Council unanimously approved the selection.
“We were fortunate to have some of the best firms in the country interested in the project, because of the South Perkasie Covered Bridge’s unique status,” said Scott Bomboy, chair of the Council’s Historical Committee. “It is the third-oldest Town Lattice style covered bridge in the United States and a special example of an original covered bridge. We intend to keep as much of the bridge intact as possible, including all the ‘carvings’ inside the bridge.”
The firm will oversee the design and repair plan for the timber bridge and its abutments, then will work with construction crews. The covered bridge will remain in its current location, and it will be elevated above the 100-year flood plain. The covered bridge also will have other enhancements to mitigate future flood damage.
The design and engineering project is expected to start in early October 2024 and conclude in January 2025. Separate construction contacts for the timber bridge and abutments will be let in Spring 2025, and the covered bridge is expected to return to public service by late August 2025.
Perkasie Borough Wood Research and Development (WRD) specializes in the inspection, testing, engineering, and design of timber structures, including covered bridges. WRD has a wood testing laboratory in Oregon, and it conducts extensive training at its facilities. WRD also has offices in Canada and Australia. WRD prides itself on promoting the advantages of timber as a sustainable resource through education, design, and engineering.
Dr. Dan Tingley, the co-founder and senior wood technologist of WRD, holds 42 patents in the field of wood and high-strength fiber composites. Among WRD’s notable projects are the restoration of Frank Lloyd Wright “Wingspread” in Racine, Wisconsin; the Keystone Wye timber highway bridge in South Dakota; and the Bayswater Covered Bridge in New Brunswick, Canada.
Perkasie Borough (population 9,192) is located in Upper Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The South Perkasie Covered Bridge was saved from demolition in 1958 by its residents and relocated to Lenape Park. The bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service in 1980.
