PennDOT officials said on Monday that repairs to the Knox covered bridge will take longer than was previously expected.

The bridge was damaged in July by a truck driver who hit and destroyed both a part of its wooden side and a portion of the cement wall alongside the road. The roof of the bridge remained undamaged during the incident. The debris from the bridge could still be seen in the creek below a day after the accident happened, writes Adam Farence for the Daily Local News.

A cement barrier, as well as signs indicating the closure of the bridge, was put up after the incident to prevent traffic from crossing the damaged bridge. In the meantime, PennDOT crews added supports to stabilize the damaged structure. Upon closer inspection, however, it turned out that the damage was worse than previously thought, said PennDOT official, Charlie Metzger.

“We found more structural damage than we originally anticipated,” he commented.

In addition to the Knox bridge, PennDOT is also working on two other covered bridges, the Rapps Dam and Speakman with the total cost for all three projects expected to be close to $3.2 million. According to Metzger, the latest estimate is that the Knox covered bridge will reopen sometime between now and late next month.

PennDot suggests that until the bridge is reopened, drivers should follow Route 252, Swedesford Road, and North Valley Road in order to avoid the closed bridge.

“I can’t believe the person who did this was able to get out of it” remarked Jose Ibarra, a local resident shortly after the crash. “It’s going to be a great inconvenience for the folks who live on the mountain.”

The bridge, which was a convenient way to cross Valley Creek for many locals, saw traffic of around 2,000 vehicles daily prior to the crash and improvements to the structure were already planned for 2016, however, the crash has effectively forced PennDOT to move up its timetable.