The National Road was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the 620-mile (1,000 km) road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main transport path to the West for thousands of settlers. When improved in the 1830s, it became the second U.S. road surfaced with the macadam process pioneered by Scotsman John Loudon McAdam.
Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the pacification of the Iroquois enabled a post-Revolutionary war resumption of westward migration. The Trading Post soon became a tavern and Inn, and was soon receiving emigrants heading west as it was located above the cut bank overlooking first ford that could be reached to those descending from the Mountains. Brownsville is located 40 miles (64 km) south of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Monongahela River.
The Allegheny Portage Railroad was the first railroad constructed through the Allegheny Mountains in central Pennsylvania, United States; it operated from 1834 to 1854 as the first transportation infrastructure through the gaps of the Allegheny that connected the midwest to the eastern seaboard across the barrier range of the Allegheny Front. Approximately 36 miles (58 km) long overall, both ends connected to the Pennsylvania Canal, and the system was primarily used as a portage railway, hauling river boats and barges over the divide between the Ohio and the Susquehanna Rivers. Today, the remains of the railroad are preserved within the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site operated by the National Park Service.
George Washington Cass was an American industrialist and president of the Northern Pacific Railway.
The Rockville Bridge is the longest stone masonry arch railroad viaduct ever built, with forty-eight 70-foot spans and a total length of 3,820 feet (1,160 m). The bridge crosses the Susquehanna River about 5 miles (8 km) north of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The eastern end is in Rockville and the western end is just south of Marysville.
The Bollman Truss Railroad Bridge at Savage, Maryland is the sole surviving example of a revolutionary design in the history of American bridge engineering. The 160-foot (48.8 m) double-span is a suspension truss bridge. The first Bollman bridge was installed on the site; however, the current bridge is not the original. The current bridge was built in 1852 and moved to the site thirty years later. It is one of the oldest standing iron railroad bridges in the United States. Currently, however, it is in use carrying the Savage Mill Trail across the Little Patuxent River.
The Frankford Avenue Bridge, also known as the Pennypack Creek Bridge, the Pennypack Bridge, the Holmesburg Bridge, and the King's Highway Bridge, erected in 1697 in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, is the oldest surviving roadway bridge in the United States. The three-span, 73-foot-long (22 m) twin stone arch bridge carries Frankford Avenue, just north of Solly Avenue, over Pennypack Creek in Pennypack Park.
Starrucca Viaduct is a stone arch bridge that spans Starrucca Creek near Lanesboro, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Completed in 1848 at a cost of $320,000, it was at the time the world's largest stone railway viaduct and was thought to be the most expensive railway bridge as well. Still in use, the viaduct is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
Tunkhannock Creek Viaduct is a concrete deck arch bridge on the Nicholson Cutoff rail segment of the Norfolk Southern Railway Sunbury Line that spans Tunkhannock Creek in Nicholson, Pennsylvania. Measuring 2,375 feet (724 m) long and towering 240 feet (73.15 m) when measured from the creek bed, it was the largest concrete structure in the world when completed in 1915 and still merited "the title of largest concrete bridge in America, if not the world" 50 years later.
The Phoenix Iron Works, located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, was a manufacturer of iron and related products during the 19th century and early 20th century. Phoenix Iron Company was a major producer of cannons for the Union Army during the American Civil War. The company also produced the Phoenix column, an advance in construction material. Company facilities are a core component of the Phoenixville Historic District, a National Register of Historic Places site that was in 2006 recognized as a historic landmark by ASM International.
U.S. Route 40 enters Pennsylvania at West Alexander. It closely parallels Interstate 70 (I-70) from West Virginia until it reaches Washington where it follows Jefferson Avenue and Maiden Street. In Washington, US 40 passes to the south of Washington & Jefferson College. Following Maiden Street out of town, the road turns southeast toward the town of California. A short limited access highway in California and West Brownsville provides an approach to the Lane Bane Bridge across the Monongahela River. From here, the road continues southeast to Uniontown.
The Brownsville Bridge, also known as the Intercounty Bridge and the West Brownsville Bridge, is a truss bridge that carries vehicular traffic across the Monongahela River between Brownsville, Pennsylvania and West Brownsville, Pennsylvania. Since the opening of the Lane Bane Bridge and highway project to carry much of the intercounty through traffic away from the main streets of downtown Brownsville in the early 1960s, another commonly heard name is Old Brownsville Bridge for the four high level viaduct.
The Perkiomen Bridge, originally built 1798-99 and widened in 1928, is one of the oldest stone arch bridges in the United States still in use. It crosses Perkiomen Creek near Collegeville, Pennsylvania. The bridge's six semi-circular arches cover a total of over 300 feet (91 m). The longest arch spans 76 feet (23 m). Its decorative piers and belts courses are unusual for a bridge this old. A lottery financed $20,000 of the original construction. The bridge carried the main road from Philadelphia to Reading, known at various times as the Manatawny Pike, Germantown Pike, the Philadelphia-Reading Pike, and US 422. Since the construction of the US 422 bypass, the road has been known as Ridge Pike or Old US 422.
Pennsylvania Railroad Old Bridge over Standing Stone Creek, also known as Conrail Old Bridge over Standing Stone Creek, is a historic multi-span stone arch bridge spanning Standing Stone Creek and located at Huntingdon, Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad between 1848 and 1850. It was in use until 1892, when the main line was relocated onto the former Pennsylvania Canal bed. A second stone arch bridge was constructed nearby for the new alignment.
Bridge in Portage Township is a historic stone arch bridge located at Portage Township in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Allegheny Portage Railroad in 1832, and is an 18-foot-long (5.5 m) bridge, with a semi-circular arch. It is built of coursed ashlar and crosses Bens Creek.
Maclay's Twin Bridge (East) is a historic multi-span stone arch bridge spanning a tributary of Conodoguinet Creek between Lurgan Township and Southampton Township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It is a 105-foot-long (32 m) bridge, with two spans each measuring 20 feet (6.1 m) long. It was constructed in 1827 and is a twin of McClay's Twin Bridge (West).
Maclay's Twin Bridge (West) is a historic multi-span stone arch bridge spanning a tributary of Conodoguinet Creek between Lurgan Township and Southampton Township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It is a 177-foot-long (54 m) bridge with three spans, the longest of which measures 31 feet (9.4 m) long. It was constructed in 1827 and is a twin of McClay's Twin Bridge (East).
Bridge in Metal Township, also known as Keggereis Ford Bridge, is a historic multi-span concrete arch bridge located at Metal Township in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. It is a 105-foot-long (32 m) bridge with three spans, the longest of which measures 45 feet (14 m) long. It was constructed in 1907. It carries Stone Bridge Road over the West Branch Conococheague Creek.
Centennial Bridge was a historic stone arch bridge located in Center Valley, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1876, and was a 233-foot-long (71 m) bridge, with three 23-foot-long (7.0 m), horseshoe shaped arches. It crossed Saucon Creek.
S Bridge was a historic stone arch bridge located at Marion Township in Berks County, Pennsylvania. It was a multiple span 230-foot-long (70 m), stone arch bridge with three spans, constructed in 1919. It crossed Tulpehocken Creek.
