The Mount Orne Covered Bridge was closed to traffic on Friday

LANCASTER — The Mount Orne Covered Bridge was closed to traffic on Friday after it was struck by an oversized vehicle. Boards above the east entrance to the bridge were damaged and dislodged, and beams had fallen onto the decking. While the bridge is closed, cross-state traffic will be detoured to the Lancaster-Guildhall crossing (5 miles north) and Dalton-Gilman crossing (5.5 miles south) during that time. The accident came eight months after the bridge was repaired. In March, Arnold M. Graton Associates Inc. of Holderness straightened the bridge, installed missing cross beams, replaced gables and siding on the Lancaster side, and patched bullet holes in the roof. The structural work addressed damage done in 2019 when an oversized truck drove through the bridge. It’s the latest in a series of covered bridge collisions across the region.