Chestnut Street Bridge

For the bridge in Detroit, see Chestnut Street Bridge (Detroit).
Chestnut Street Bridge

Chestnut Street Bridge, ca. 1869, looking West
Carries Chestnut Street (PA 3 eastbound)
Crosses Schuylkill River
Schuylkill Expressway
ID number 670003009022930
Design Steel continuous, Girder and Floorbeam System
Total length 113.1 metres (371 ft)
Width 13.5 metres (44 ft) (roadway)
Load limit 65.7 t (72.4 short tons)
Clearance below 8.2 metres (27 ft)
Opened 1957
Daily traffic 16109 (2006)

The Chestnut Street Bridge is a bridge across the Schuylkill River that carries Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The original 1861 bridge was "a bridge whose scale and use of cast iron made it singular in the United States and throughout the world".[1] The 1957 bridge, now one way, carries PA Route 3 eastbound and continues to help connect West Philadelphia with the rest of the city.

Contents

History

Construction of the first Chestnut Street Bridge, designed by Strickland Kneass,[2] started on 4 September 1861.[3][4] That bridge cost $500,000, was 1,528 feet (466 m) long, and was constructed of cast iron, with approaches and piers of granite.[3] When the bridge formally opened on 23 June 1866,[5] it was the second connection between Center City Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, after the Market Street Bridge.[2]

In 1957, to make way for the Schuylkill Expressway, the western pier of the bridge was removed, and the main spans of the bridge were replaced.[1]

In 2011, a weight restriction was placed on it due to its age.

In Film

See also

List of crossings of the Schuylkill River

References

  1. ^ a b "Creativity in Cast Iron: Strickland Kneass’s Chestnut Street Bridge". http://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/archive/2008/02/21/creativity-in-cast-iron-strickland-kneasss-chestnut-street-bridge.aspx. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
  2. ^ a b "WEST PHILADELPHIA - "THE GENESIS OF 'THE CITY ACROSS THE RIVER'"". http://www.uchs.net/Rosenthal/wphila.html. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
  3. ^ a b "A Tour of Philadelphia's Waterfront in 1876". http://www.phillyh2o.org/backpages/Philadelphia_WaterFront_1876.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
  4. ^ "Civil War History in Philadelphia, PA". http://www.pacivilwar.com/county/philadelphiahistory.html. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
  5. ^ "Philadelphia Timeline, 1866". http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/timeline/1866.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
  6. ^ "Jim Loftus: Getting The Hack of "Hack"". http://www.davidmorse.org/news/HackofHack.html. Retrieved 2009-10-19. 

External links