Keller/Rettews Mill Bridge to be Moved

[38-36-13]

 

Ephrata, Township, PA, June 7, 2003 - The plan to move the Keller/Rettews Mill Bridge, first proposed in 1994, is now moving ahead.

The bridge is to be moved to a nearby location and replaced with a concrete and steel bridge. The reason for the move is to improve traffic flow in Ephrata Township and to preserve one of the county's historic covered bridges.

The holdup since early 1994 has beenpaperwork. Because the Keller's Mill Covered Bridge (sometimes called the Guy Bard bridge or Cocalico No. 5 bridge) is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and because the replacement bridge planned by Ephrata Township will be built with federal funds, the project requires multiple reviews and clearances.

The Federal Highway Administration has agreed to pay 80 percent of the estimated $1.1 million cost of a new bridge. State Transportation officials will pay another 15 percent while the township will pay the remaining 5 percent.

The county would pay about $300,000 to relocate the covered bridge, acording to the assistant county engineer.

County officials believe the move is the best way to preserve the historic 1891 wooden bridge.

It was estimated that at least 3,000 vehicles daily cross the Rettew Mill Road bridge, which is used as a western bypass of Ephrata.

To move the bridge, the county will build a supporting structure underneath. Then the bridge will be disassembled. Major parts will be numbered, labeled and reused. The shingles and planking will be discarded. The covered bridge will remain in use until after the new bridge is constructed by the township upstream. No date was given for the move.

The 77-foot Keller/Rettews Mill Bridge crosses Cocalico Creek. It was built in 1891 using the Burr truss.