Bridges Of Chester County: Rapps Dam Bridge Opens Thursday

The light at the end of the traffic tunnel beginning to shimmer in the darkness that is the critical mass of vehicles attempting to make their way through and around Phoenixville.

PennDOT officials announced on Thursday morning that the Rapps Dam Bridge in East Pikeland Township had officially opened.

The reopening is a week ahead of schedule, according to officials.

The bridge was severely damaged by a tractor trailer in April 2014. A similar incident occurred when Valley Forge’s historic Knox Bridge was hit this summer.

It’s the second significant road opening in the Phoenixville area this week, as the long awaited Route 23 bridge over Pickering Creek opened on Tuesday.

Crews at the Rapps Dam Road bridge restored the Burr Arch truss and installed new ceiling joists and braces, in addition to replacing wooden cross members on the roof, according to officials.

A third covered bridge in Chester County, the Speakman Covered Bridge on Frog Hollow Road in West Marlborough and East Fallowfield townships, will start construction in 2016.

The three covered bridges will cost a total of $3,201,562 to repair, according to PennDOT.

Knox and Speakman are covered by state funds, while Rapps was finished with 80 percent federal money and 20 percent from the state.