Carbon County officials are moving forward on constructing permanent vertical clearance bars at the covered bridge in Lower Towamensing Township.

Last week, Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard said he participated in a meeting with Lower Towamensing supervisors, county engineers and construction experts at the bridge regarding the construction of the steel structures.Gerhard said the county will provide the necessary materials, as well as county employees to complete the construction, while Lower Towamensing will provide a backhoe and operator to do the excavation."It's long overdue," said Brent Green, chairman of Lower Towamensing Township supervisors. "Hopefully it will prevent future accidents and keep the integrity of the bridge intact."The bridge will be shut down for two to three weeks once work begins.There is no official timeline at this time, but officials hope it is completed by the fall foliage season.Requests for proposals will now be sent out for the fabrication of the beams that will be installed.The commissioners have been looking at reinforcing the vertical clearance bars for a few months after the wooden beams were damaged yet again by a vehicle that exceeded the height limit.Last month, the county announced that it was working with Carbon Engineering to design the new beams.The covered bridge has been struck by vehicles numerous times over the past few years, causing thousands of dollars in damage.The bridge was closed from July through Nov. 10, 2014, so crews from Professional Construction Contractors Inc. of Bethlehem could replace the open-grid steel deck and sandblast and paint the bridge.The cost of the project, $304,000, was covered by Act 13 bridge improvement funds and Act 44 funds.