Carbon County is moving forward with repairing the deck of the covered bridge in Lower Towamensing Township.

On Thursday, the county commissioners opened bids for the project, which includes replacing the open grid steel deck, sandblasting and painting the bridge, located in the Little Gap section of the township.The apparent lowest bidder was Professional Construction Contractors Inc. of Bethlehem, which submitted a bid of $291,126. Other bids included Bill Anskis Company Inc. of Elysburg, $306,176; and Titan Industrial Services Inc. of Baltimore, $337,721.The commissioners tabled the bids for review by Ron Tirpak, county engineer. The contract is expected to be awarded at this week's commissioners' meeting.Commissioner William O'Gurek said that the county has two funding sources for the project Act 13 bridge improvement funds and Act 44 funds."This represents a commitment that the county is making to the people of Lower Towamensing and to those who understand and appreciate the historical significance of the covered bridge," he added. "It is one of our prized assets that we are proud of. I'm happy with the bids."He noted that the commissioners hope to complete the project by the end of the year.No time frame on when the project will start or how long it will take has been determined, but once work begins, the bridge will be shut down to vehicular traffic and a detour will be put into place until work is finished.The board also asked people to please respect the bridge and its height and weight restrictions because if it wasn't for people continually driving through the over 100-year-old structure with vehicles that are too large for it, the constant repairs wouldn't be necessary."Stop driving through there and knocking it apart," O'Gurek said.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, chairman, added that so far this year, there have been three or four incidents that damaged the bridge."Please read the signs," Nothstein said, "and know how high your vehicles are."In other matters, the board approved the following personnel moves:Resignations• Jamie M. Blisard of Albrightsville, part-time dispatcher, Communications Center, effective June 13.• George T. Dydynsky of Lehighton, first assistant public defender, Public Defender's Office, effective Aug. 1.• Stephanie M. Maino of Nesquehoning, 911 operator, Communications Center, effective July 6.• Terrence C. Smith of Lansford, senior dispatcher, Communications Center, effective July 16.Appointment• Jeffrey P. Aster of Walnutport, part-time county detective, District Attorney's office, July 7.Hire• Gail M. Marek of Nesquehoning, secretary III, Children and Youth Services, effective Monday.Change of status• Todd A. Kriner of Lehighton, from seasonal park ranger II to seasonal park ranger I, Mauch Chunk Lake Park, effective today.