Reward Offered In Pennsylvania Bridge Fire

July 19, 2004
East Rockhill Township is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever set fire to the 130-year-old Mood's Covered Bridge on June 22.

East Rockhill Township is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever set fire to the 130-year-old Mood's Covered Bridge on June 22.

The blaze destroyed the top and sides of the wood structure, leaving only a charred wood deck over steel support beams.

Chief David Mettin of the Pennridge Regional Police Department said Friday that the reward had led some people to call with tips that officers are investigating.

"We don't have a concrete suspect yet," he said.

Mettin said the fire is being investigated as an arson. An accelerant was detected on the wood deck, but the results of tests to identify the substance were not yet available, he said.

Steven D. Funk, East Rockhill's director of public works, said the township had not decided whether to rebuild the covered bridge or replace it with a modern, two-lane span.

He said the township was considering holding a referendum on what to do with the bridge, which carries Blooming Glen Road over the northeast branch of Perkiomen Creek. An average of 2,000 cars used the bridge each day.

Gene Blaum, spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, said work began the week of July 4 on temporary repairs that are expected to cost more than $40,000.

PennDot plans to pave the bridge deck and add guardrails so it can reopen as an uncovered bridge by Labor Day.

The bridge had been closed since January, when a Browning-Ferris Industries garbage truck damaged the roof. The company paid PennDot $37,792 to cover those repairs. That money will now be used for the temporary repairs.

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