Perkasie Borough has been awarded funding under the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Public Assistance program to repair its historic 1832 covered bridge, the borough announced on April 17, 2023.
The remnants of Hurricane Ida damaged the South Perkasie Covered Bridge in September 2021. The FEMA grant award, along with a 10 percent match from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), will pay for damage directly related to Ida. Other funds raised prior to Ida will go to repairing sections of the bridge’s Town Lattice truss not impacted by the storm.
At a minimum, the FEMA and PEMA grant award is for a minimum of $427,554.56. Before Ida, the Perkasie Historical Society raised $120,000 to rehab the bridge, and Perkasie Borough was awarded a $100,000 state grant in June 2020 based on the society’s match.
In all, the South Perkasie Covered Bridge repair project now has a minimum of $688,554.56 in dedicated funding, including a $41,000 FEMA emergency grant in 2021 to stabilize the bridge. Under FEMA’s grant guidelines, costs related to undiscovered damage to the bridge caused by Ida also are fully covered by federal and state funds.
“FEMA and PEMA’s financial support now allows us to move forward with saving our beloved covered bridge, the symbol of our Perkasie community,” said Scott Bomboy, chair of Perkasie Borough council’s historical committee. “We expect to publicly advertise for planning proposals for the project shortly. Once we award those bids, the borough will have an estimated completion date for the project.”
Perkasie Borough applied for FEMA public assistance immediately after the record September 2021 flood moved the bridge 15 feet off its abutments. The project went through a detailed review, including a consultation with the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
“Over the past 15 months, Perkasie Borough and FEMA have worked together diligently to find ways to maximize FEMA and PEMA’s contributions to this unique project. We also would like to thank Representative Brian Fitzpartrick, state Representative Craig Staats, state Senator Steve Santarsierro, Bucks County commissioner Robert Harvie, and their staffs for their support during this process,” said Perkasie Mayor Jeff Hollenbach. “In addition, I would like to add my congratulations to Scott Bomboy, Andrea Coaxum, and others in our Borough Administration who demonstrated remarkable patience and persistence in acquiring this dedicated funding for the restoration of our South Perkasie Covered Bridge.”
“This is great news for the borough and society who have been working together for the past four years to restore this historic 1832 landmark in Lenape Park,” said Charles W. Baum, former Perkasie Historical Society president for 25 years. “The Perkasie Historical Society saved the bridge and raised funds to move the span one-half mile into the park in 1958 and dedicated the bridge a year later to the borough and its residents. We are delighted to hear the great news that FEMA and PEMA are approving the funding to restore Bucks County’s oldest covered bridge.”
The South Perkasie Covered Bridge is also Pennsylvania’s third-oldest covered bridge. The Department of Interior placed the South Perkasie Covered Bridge on its National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
In addition to the government agencies and non-profits listed above, other funding partners for the project include American Heritage Federal Credit Union, Free Will Brewing, Penn Community Bank, Pennridge Development Enterprises, the Bucks County Covered Bridge Society, the Perkasie Industrial Development Authority, and Univest. Community sponsors include Covenant Bank, Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s, The Perk, the Perkasie Lions Club, the Perkasie Owls, the Pezzanite Family Charitable Trust and QNB.