Work to reopen historic covered Old Kissing Bridge resumes in Waterford Township

WATERFORD — A long-closed covered bridge in Waterford Township is expected to reopen in October.

The top of the Niemeyer Road bridge was dismantled last fall for repair off-site.

Work this year will include the construction of new abutments, beams and decking to support the historic structure. The bridge, when it's completed, will be repainted in traditional barn red and will be posted with a 15-ton weight limit, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

The Niemeyer Road bridge is owned by Waterford Township. It was closed to traffic in May 2011 due to safety concerns.

Work to rehabilitate and reopen the bridge is being done by Chivers Construction Company of Fairview. Contract cost for the work is nearly $3.5 million, to be paid with state and federal funding.

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A little history

The 85-foot, single-lane covered bridge was built in 1875 by brothers Charles and James Phelps as a Town lattice wooden truss bridge. The trusses are comprised of crisscrossed diagonals, as the name lattice truss implies.

The Niemeyer Road bridge is one of only 19 such bridges remaining in the state and is believed to be the only one in northwestern Pennsylvania.

The bridge is also known as Brotherton’s Bridge and the Old Kissing Bridge.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Contact Valerie Myers at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PennDOT work underway to reopen Waterford PA covered bridge this fall