It could cost more than $1.5 million to repair and reopen two covered bridges and a stone arch bridge damaged by Tropical Storm Lee.
"We have a lot of work ahead of us to get the bridges back up to working order, but we're committed to doing so," Lancaster County Commissioner Dennis Stuckey said Tuesday night in Rapho Township, where the commissioners held a road-show meeting.
The county has insurance on the bridges and anticipates Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. The county's bridge fund also could be used.
"The bridges are something very special and unique to Lancaster County," Commissioner Scott Martin said, noting that Lancaster has 20 percent of the covered bridges in the state.
The worst-hit was the 92-foot Siegrist's Mill covered bridge spanning Chiques Creek on the Rapho-West Hempfield Township line. The bridge, built in 1885, was swept from its foundation.
The county is working with property owners to get construction easements so a crane can hoist the bridge out of the creek, said Charlie Douts, the county's facilities management director.
Its roof and siding will be stripped and replaced and structural members repaired before it's put back, likely in November 2012, he said.
Martin said Siegrist's Mill bridge had been next on the county's list for a new roof, and he was glad that work wasn't done before Lee struck.
The 124-foot Pinetown covered bridge on Bridge Road over the Conestoga River on the Upper Leacock-Manheim Township line bowed from the pressure of several feet of water, Douts said.
The bridge, built in 1867, also shifted on its piers and will have to be removed so it can be repaired, he said. It could be a year at least until it's reopened.
The stone masonry bridge carrying Pinkerton Road over the Little Chiques Creek on the Rapho-East Donegal Township line was damaged by debris and blacktop washed away. Douts said workers recovered its sandstone caps, which will be replaced.
It should be reopened in two to three weeks, he said.
Siegrist and Pinetown each could cost about $750,000, and Pinkerton could cost about $20,000, Douts estimated.
"Until we get (Siegrist) out of the creek and see how much of the structure is really damaged, it's really hard to say," Douts said.
The commissioners also recognized numerous municipal emergency management agencies, fire and police departments, emergency medical services, county departments and organizations for their assistance.
