Over the next four years, some 43 state bridges are going to get makeovers or replacements.

It is a historic endeavor, part of the Williamsport Area Transportation Study’s Transportation Improvement Project, according to Mark Murawski, Lycoming County transportation supervisor.

The historic suspension bridge at English Center will be dismantled in a three-year, $5 million project, he said.

The plan is to deconstruct it the first year, have a fabricator make bridge parts in the second year and then put the bridge back together — stronger but with same historic look, he said.

Bridges have held a traditional value in the county since as early as the 19th century, according to John F. Meginness, author of “History of Lycoming County,” published in 1892.

The first bridges recorded crossed the Loyalsock and Lycoming creeks and were built in 1812 and 1813, according to the author.

The former was constructed by James Moore, who became noted as a bridge builder, Meginness states.

The Lycoming Creek bridge was built by Isaac Lyon, a name with a familiar lineage.

The bridge stood until the great flood of 1865, when it was carried away. These bridges were the first timber-arched structures in the county over the large streams, according to the author.

The first movement to bridge the river at Williamsport was made by securing the passage of a law in 1833.

A company was hired to build a toll bridge over the river at Williamsport, and a turnpike to the Union County line, Meginness said.

Enough money was raised, and the bridge was completed and opened for travel on July 5, 1849, at a cost of nearly $24,000.

It didn’t last long. This bridge also succumbed to the flood of March 17, 1865.

But the repair happened just as quickly. By December of the same year, a wire suspension bridge was completed at a cost of a little more than $58,000.

Another great flood destroyed the bridge in June of 1889.

“The company at once built a finer iron bridge and it was managed by the corporation until Nov. 7, 1891, when it was purchased by the county commissioners for $113,700 and declared free of toll,” Meginness stated.

Another bridge built in western Lycoming County helped people get over the river at Jersey Shore.

The builders were known as the Lewisburg and Jersey Shore Turnpike Road and Bridge Co., Meginness said.

That bridge finally was completed but also suffered similar fates, twice, by floods. It was rebuilt for about $33,000 and declared toll free.

A bridge across the river at Muncy was built but, after the 1889 flood, its stockholders refused to rebuild. Instead, they offered to transfer their charter and franchise to the county.

On petition, the proper legal steps were taken and the commissioners were forced to rebuild the span, which they did at a cost of about $43,000. It was made free for drivers.

In August 1878, the Maynard Street suspension bridge was completed across the river at Williamsport.

The 1,050-foot long bridge was damaged by floods and winds several times. After the flood in 1889, it was rebuilt and sold to the county commissioners for about $42,000.

During this time, numerous bridges were built across streams.

“A majority were handsome iron structures,” Meginness said.

Little Pine Creek saw four iron bridges, which cost $64,000. Two of these at English Center, about one-third of a mile apart, cost $42,000.