The covered bridge in Lower Towamensing Township will soon be closed to vehicles, officials said.

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board announced that due to a recent state inspection, the bridge is in need of another major overhaul.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, chairman, said that because of this inspection, which occurred on Sept. 19, the county has decided to close the bridge to all vehicular traffic indefinitely. Problems include a severely deteriorated open steel deck, numerous primary bars with 100 percent section loss and widespread 100 percent section loss to secondary and tertiary bars.The closure will take place in the next few days after the commissioners can obtain concrete barriers and the proper signage."We have several issues with that bridge that could be rather costly," Nothstein said. "We're looking at our options at this particular time, including funding options that could be available."He said that another covered bridge in Berks County was recently completely repaired and cost nearly $6 million.Nothstein added that he fears that if the county repairs it, floods and drivers not following the bridge's height and weight limits will cause more damage to the structure and more headaches for the county in the future.Commissioner William O'Gurek added that the commissioners are looking into what a long-term solution could be because numerous repairs were completed in 2008 and other repairs were completed in 2011 and earlier this year because of vehicles causing damage to the structure.He noted that the county will again look at applying for federal funding for the project.In 2010, the county submitted a project grant request to now former United States Congressman Paul Kanjorski in the amount of $1.2 million for the project. Kanjorski backed the project but Congress never acted on the request."We're going to make every attempt to try and secure funding in the hopes of someday opening that bridge once again," O'Gurek said.Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said that the minimum cost for removing the decking, sandblasting and painting is $300,000.In other bridge matters, the commissioners are moving forward on the construction of bridge 16, located on Koch Road in Towamensing Township.Once the project begins next year, it should take two years to complete, Nothstein said.Bridge 4, located along Grist Mill Road in Packer Township, is also in need of immediate repairs after PennDOT inspected the bridge last week.Gerhard explained that the bridge has been a problem for years. Currently there is a hole in the decking and you can see the Quakake Creek below through the hole.A number of recommendations are being looked at to repair some of the problems of the bridge in the immediate future, including putting up jersey barriers to create a one-lane bridge."We're going to do temporary repairs right now," Gerhard said. "The bottom line is everything is about money and right now we're going to do the necessary repairs to keep that bridge open."Nothstein added that they are going to try and get bridge 4 on the 12-year Metropolitan Planning Organization plan.In other business, O'Gurek and Gerhard commended Nothstein, who was recognized recently by the Boy Scouts of America.Nothstein was the guest of honor at a banquet at the Mahoning Valley Country Club on Wednesday."I think this speaks well to the work he does here, not only as a commissioner, but other avenues," O'Gurek said. "It's a nice honor."Gerhard pointed out that Nothstein is very active with the Boy Scouts, fire companies and other organizations."We want to commend him for all that he does," he said.Nothstein thanked everyone who supported him and commended the Boy Scouts for helping families."It keeps families together," he said. "It teaches kids responsibility and respect. It's a valuable program. If all the people in this world lived by the Scout law, this world would be so much better to live in and we wouldn't have the problems we have today."The county also continues to receive a number of letters regarding the rate increase at the county parking lot. They also received photos from an anonymous sender regarding a Jim Thorpe business owner's vehicle parked in downtown Broadway taking up a metered spot during the Labor Day weekend. The photos showed that he was advertising his business by parking across from the shop and attaching signs pointing to the business.