Car Strikes Covered Bridge In Tredyffin

Authorities are seeking a driver who reportedly struck a covered bridge in Tredyffin Township Monday afternoon.

Knox Bridge, located where Yellow Springs Road crosses Valley Creek in Valley Forge National Historical Park, was hit by an unknown vehicle at approximately 2:30 p.m. According to Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) spokesman Gene Blaum, the only information currently known about the vehicle is that it was ”large.”

The bridge remains closed indefinitely pending a PennDOT investigation. According to Blaum, officials will have to draw up plans to repair the structural damage sustained in the collision.

“We have no idea how long it could take to fix right now,” said the spokesman.

Later, in a PennDOT statement, Blaum reported that ”nearly an entire stone-masonry wing wall adjacent to the bridge” had been damaged along with a 20-foot-long section of its timber siding.

According to Blaum, approximately 2,000 vehicles cross the 50-foot-long Knox Bridge each day. PennDOT recently awarded a $3.2 million contract to rehabilitate three covered bridges in Chester County, including the Knox Bridge, starting this summer. The planned repairs to the Knox Bridge included strengthening its steel beams, said Blaum.

Motorists are advised to follow Route 252, Swedesford Road and North Valley Road to travel around the closed bridge.

Originally built in 1865, the Knox Bridge has rehabilitated twice, in 1996 and again in 2006.

Asked for comment, a representative for the Tredyffin Police Department referred all questions to Valley Forge National Historical Park, where an official in turn said any new information would come from PennDOT.

This is a breaking story. Updates will be posted as they become available.