South Perkasie Covered Bridge Rehabilitation
March, 2025
The South Perkasie Covered Bridge is Perkasie’s “town symbol” and an important part of our region’s history. This summer, the long-awaited project to open the bridge to the public is set to begin.
Some people may not know our town bridge is the oldest covered bridge in Bucks County, the third-oldest covered bridge in Pennsylvania, and the seventh-oldest covered bridge in the United States. And in 1958, it was saved for generations to enjoy by the Perkasie Historical Society.
In late 2019 and early 2020, Perkasie Borough and the Perkasie Historical Society raised more than $200,000 in grants and donations to make repairs to the bridge. However, Hurricane Ida in September 2021 caused damage across Perkasie Borough’s park system, moving the bridge 10 feet and destroying its abutments system.
In 2024, Perkasie Borough completed the review and grant process with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), and the state of Pennsylvania, to fund the rest of the repairs to the covered bridge. Engineering work started in October 2024 when Wood Research & Development of Jefferson, Oregon began the bridge’s rehabilitation plan. The plan was completed in May 2025, allowing for construction bids to be advertised.
In May 2025, Perkasie Borough identified some changes to the original project scope and is working through these with FEMA and PEMA:
- Perkasie Borough intends to move the covered bridge to a location further away from the creek, to help mitigate against future storm and flood damage;
- The rehabilitation plan has identified areas in the FEMA Public Assistance Scope of Cost plan that omitted several sections of the covered bridge damaged by the remnants of Hurricane Ida. Perkasie Borough has written to FEMA and PEMA with change requests to allow the replacement or repair-in-kind of the lower diagonal bracing under the covered bridge’s deck, of the covered bridge’s four lower corners, and of the knee braces, cross ties, and upper diagonal bracing that support the bridge’s roof.
Based on FEMA’s response to these change requests, Perkasie will submit a revised production schedule to accommodate the bridge’s move and the additional time for repairs for the omitted timber sections, which will likely include a project extension request.
For those of you interested in following the covered bridge project, we have several key documents below on this page. Please note that these are all still working documents and are subject to change as the Borough works through the design and bidding process. One of the major goals is to perform a historic rehabilitation of the existing bridge, salvaging, repairing and reusing the existing components to the maximum extent possible. Perkasie Borough recently received a detailed inspection report, an analysis of storm damage, and preliminary design drawings for the timber structure.
More information about the history of Perkasie Borough’s Covered Bridge can be found on the website of the Perkasie Historical Society. Questions about the Rehabilitation project should be directed to admin@perkasieborough.org