Dunlap's Creek Bridge

Dunlap's Creek Bridge
Coordinates

40°01′18″N 79°53′17″W / 40.02167°N 79.88806°W[1]

Dunlap's Creek Bridge
Coordinates 40°1′18″N 79°53′17″W / 40.02167°N 79.88806°WCoordinates: 40°1′18″N 79°53′17″W / 40.02167°N 79.88806°W
Governing body State
NRHP Reference # 78002398[2]
Added to NRHP July 31, 1978
Carries National Road
Crosses Dunlap's Creek
Locale Brownsville, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
Design arch bridge
Material cast iron
Longest span 24.4 metres (80 ft)[3]
Number of spans 1
History
Designer Richard Delafield
Construction begin 1836
Construction end 1839

Dunlap's Creek Bridge was the first cast iron, metal arch bridge in the United States. It was designed by Richard Delafield and built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.[4] Constructed from 1836 to 1839 on the National Road in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, it remains in use today. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark (1978). It is located in the Brownsville Commercial Historic District.

History

There have been four structures on this site. The first two collapsed in 1808 and 1820. The third, a wood-framed structure, needed replacement by 1832.[5]

This bridge is constructed using five parallel tubular ribs, each made of 9 elliptical segments to form the 80 feet (24 m) arch.[4]

Image

See also

Notes

  1. The First Cast Iron Bridge: Historical Marker Database
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  3. Dunlap's Creek Bridge at Structurae
  4. 4.0 4.1 Jackson, Donald C. (1996). Great American Bridges and Dams. New York: Wiley. ISBN 0-471-14385-5.
  5. Murphy, Kevin (June 1984). "Dunlap's Creek Bridge". Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. p. 1. Retrieved February 1, 2014.

References

External links