Trenton City/Calhoun Street Bridge - Morrisville, Pennsylvania
Posted by: Groundspeak Charter Member BruceS
N 40° 13.114 W 074° 46.778
18T E 518750 N 4452039
Historic truss bridge across the Delaware River between Trenton, New Jersey and Morrisville, Pennsylvania.
Waymark Code: WM490Q
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 07/23/2008
Views: 36

"The Calhoun Street Toll Supported Bridge is one of three bridges connecting Trenton, New Jersey with Morrisville, Pennsylvania. Construction of the original bridge, known as the "City Bridge", began in 1859. It opened to traffic on July 1, 1861. The wooden bridge continued in service for 23 years until the evening of June 25, 1884, when disaster struck. The bridge was completely destroyed in one of the most spectacular fires ever witnessed in the area.

The "City Bridge" was replaced with an iron truss structure using the original stone masonry piers and abutments, undamaged by the fire. Built by the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pennsylvania and opened to traffic on October 20, 1884, the bridge is the same structure standing on the site today. A local newspaper of the day reported that 16 two-horse vehicles, 7 one-horse vehicles and 175 pedestrians crossed over the bridge on the first day. A trolley line was operated on the bridge for several years in the early part of the twentieth century. The Bridge is a Phoenix Pratt truss with a total length of 1,274 feet. A timber plank pedestrian sidewalk is supported by the upriver truss on steel cantilever brackets.

The bridge is currently posted for a three-ton weight limit, an 8-foot vertical clearance and a fifteen-mile per hour speed limit." - Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission website

The bridge was on the Lincoln Highway until 1920 when the route was moved to a free bridge across the Delaware River.

Date Built: 10/20/1884

Length of Span:
1,274 feet


www:
http://www.drjtbc.com/default.aspx?pageid=78


Parking Coordinates:: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
Log your find with a picture of the bridge with yourself or your GPS in the foreground. This shot does not have to be taken "on" the bridge. The shot should show the "truss" structure of the bridge as well.
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