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

During the county commissioners' meeting on Thursday, the board voted 2-0 to authorize advertising the invitation to bid for the replacement of the open grid steel deck and structural steel painting project on bridge 17, the covered bridge, located in the Little Gap section of the township.Commissioner William O'Gurek abstained from the vote due to conflict of interest with his other employment.The estimated cost of the project is over $300,000, which will be covered through state funding.Following the vote, O'Gurek said that the board is happy that they are able to make the needed renovations to the bridge because it is a "real jewel" in the county.He pointed out a letter that the county received from the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Bureau of Historic Preservation regarding the bridge.In the letter, it was determined that the project "will have no adverse effects on the property" and "no archaeological resources will be affected."The project will consist of replacing the steel deck and sandblasting the remaining steel on the bridge and repainting it; as well as repairing any worn wooden arches and studs."Hopefully, we'll get it back into the shape it should be and we'll preserve it for a long, long time." O'Gurek said.Commissioner Wayne Nothstein, chairman, agreed with O'Gurek, adding that the bridge has been the victim of numerous vehicle strikes in recent years, causing thousands of dollars in damage that had to be repaired over and over again.He reminded motorists using the bridge to know the vehicle height before trying to squeeze through the bridge. There are height restriction poles in place, but in the past, those have been ignored.In the past, Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard recommended the county install steel beams that would definitely stop a vehicle in its tracks if it is too tall for the bridge.O'Gurek said yesterday that the board is in favor of installing those beams if it is necessary.In other matters, Gerhard thanked the county maintenance crew; as well as Charles Neff from the county prison, for clearing snow and ice from the sidewalks between the county parking lot and the Route 903 bridge in preparation of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day parade in Jim Thorpe.He said the borough wasn't able to clean it due to the lack of funds left in the winter budget because of the harsh season so far; so the county decided to address the issue.