Six college students were charged yesterday with setting fire to Mood's Covered Bridge, the 130-year-old span in East Rockhill Township that burned down June 22.
A Bucks County prosecutor said local residents packed a district courtroom in Perkasie as Benjamin Recenes, Joseph Boland, Daniel Widner, Vincent Stout, Joshua Naso and Kevin Horoff were arraigned on charges of arson, criminal mischief, and conspiracy to commit arson and criminal mischief.
The six, 20 to 21, all from the Perkasie area, admitted their guilt, according to Bucks County Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Gambardella.
"They went there with the purpose of lighting the bridge on fire," he said.
Prosecutors say the men first tried to set the bridge ablaze with newspapers and rubbing alcohol that they had bought at a Wawa in nearby Dublin. When that didn't work, they left and got some gasoline.
"It's one of those totally senseless crimes," Gambardella said. "Bucks County is known for its covered bridges. Now we have one less."
The six could each face a maximum 20 years in prison, Gambardella said.
East Rockhill Township offered a $5,000 reward in July for information leading to the arrest of whoever set the blaze, which left only a charred wooden deck over steel support beams.
Gambardella said a tip led Pennridge Regional Police to the men, and he believes the person who gave it will receive the reward.
The bridge, built over the northeast branch of the Perkiomen Creek in 1874, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It carried traffic on Blooming Glen Road over the creek.
Before it burned, the bridge had been closed since January, when a 12-foot-high Browning-Ferris Industries trash truck tried to cross the 11-foot-clearance bridge and broke eight of the 12 roof supports. About 2,000 vehicles had crossed the bridge daily before it was damaged. Repair work was about to begin when the fire happened.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation reopened the deck of the one-lane bridge Aug. 10, but some residents have called for the roof and sides to be rebuilt.
East Rockhill Township supervisors have not decided whether the township can afford to maintain a new covered bridge.
Completely rebuilding the bridge could cost $500,000 to $750,000, PennDot spokesman Gene Blaum said earlier this month. PennDot had repaired the 120-foot-long, 15-foot-wide covered bridge in 1997 at a cost of $277,813.
Pennsylvania once had as many as 1,500 covered bridges; now there are only about 200. Many were lost to development in the 1950s; now, arsonists pose one of the biggest threats.
After formal arraignment in Bucks County Court, the six were expected to go to trial, possibly in November.
