East Bloomsburg Bridge

East Bloomsburg Bridge
East Bloomsburg Bridge
	The East Bloomsburg Bridge some time before 1915
Coordinates	40°59′N76°26′W / 40.99°N 76.44°W Coordinates: 40°59′N76°26′W / 40.99°N 76.44°W
Carries	Pennsylvania Route 487
Crosses	Susquehanna River
Locale	Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania and Catawissa Township, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
Total length	1150 feet

Last updated September 29, 2019

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was a bridge in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It carried the traffic of Pennsylvania Route 487,^[1] which is known as Ferry Road at that point.^[2] The bridge crossed the Susquehanna River.^[1] It was built in 1894 and torn down in 1987. The East Bloomsburg Bridge is on the Historic American Engineering Record and the Historic American Buildings Survey, as of 1992.^[3]

A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle, such as a body of water, valley, or road, without closing the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, usually something that can be detrimental to cross otherwise. There are many different designs that each serve a particular purpose and apply to different situations. Designs of bridges vary depending on the function of the bridge, the nature of the terrain where the bridge is constructed and anchored, the material used to make it, and the funds available to build it.

Bloomsburg is a town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States, located 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Wilkes-Barre along the Susquehanna River. It is the county seat of Columbia County and the only incorporated town in Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, Bloomsburg had a population of 14,855, with an estimated population of 14,519 in 2013.

The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the most populous city is New York City. Most of the country is located contiguously in North America between Canada and Mexico.

Description

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was 1,150 feet (350 m) long. Prior to its demolition and reconstruction, the bridge was made up of six pin-connected through truss spans. Each of these spans is 190 feet (58 m) long. Each of the spans consisted of ten panels that were each 19 feet (5.8 m) long. The panels were made of wrought iron and steel. The pins on the bridge were made of steel. The floor of the bridge was made of 2.5-inch (6 centimeter) oak. The original design of the bridge was such that it could support a static load of 732 pounds (332 kg) per linear foot and a rolling load of 1,440 pounds (650 kg) per linear foot. The bridge's original weight limit was 13 tons, but this was later decreased to 10 tons.^[1] Shortly before its demolition, the bridge had two lanes of 8.25 feet (2.51 m). It had a clearance of 16 feet (4.9 m) at the beginning of the bridge and 16.92 feet (5.16 m) at the center.^[2]

Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content in contrast to cast iron. It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions, which gives it a "grain" resembling wood that is visible when it is etched or bent to the point of failure. Wrought iron is tough, malleable, ductile, corrosion-resistant and easily welded. Before the development of effective methods of steelmaking and the availability of large quantities of steel, wrought iron was the most common form of malleable iron. It was given the name wrought because it was hammered, rolled or otherwise worked while hot enough to expel molten slag. The modern functional equivalent of wrought iron is mild or low carbon steel. Neither wrought iron nor mild steel contain enough carbon to be hardenable by heating and quenching.

Steel alloy made by combining iron and other elements

Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, and sometimes other elements. Because of its high tensile strength and low cost, it is a major component used in buildings, infrastructure, tools, ships, automobiles, machines, appliances, and weapons.

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 600 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus, as well as in those of unrelated species such as Grevillea robusta and the Casuarinaceae (she-oaks). The genus Quercus is native to the Northern Hemisphere, and includes deciduous and evergreen species extending from cool temperate to tropical latitudes in the Americas, Asia, Europe, and North Africa. North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States, while Mexico has 160 species of which 109 are endemic. The second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species.

The East Bloomsburg Bridge crosses the Susquehanna River between Bloomsburg and Catawissa Township.^[1] The bridge is located in the U.S.G.S. Catawissa Quadrangle.^[2]

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was constructed with Pennsylvania-style trusses, also known as Petit trusses. These were based on a Pratt truss, but had several modifications. These included converting the top chord to a polygonal shape and dividing and deepening the panels.^[2]

In elementary geometry, a polygon is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain or polygonal circuit. The solid plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two together, may be called a polygon.

History and construction

On August 23, 1892, a group of citizens created a petition requesting that a free county bridge be built across the Susquehanna River in the vicinity of Bloomsburg. The citizens delivered this petition to a nearby court. However, on September 21, 1892, a group of citizens from Catawissa created a petition requesting that the money that was to be used for the East Bloomsburg Bridge would instead be used to build a replacement for the existing bridge in Catawissa, which was in poor condition at the time. Due to the opposing petition, the court in Bloomsburg ceased plans to build the bridge at Bloomsburg. However, despite more arguments from the opponents of the planned bridge in Bloomsburg, the court reversed its decision on November 9, 1893, stating that "the said bridge is necessary as a county bridge".^[1]

A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication.

Economic freedom Freedom to perform economic actions

Economic freedom, or economic liberty, is the ability of people of a society to take economic actions. This is a term used in economic and policy debates as well as in the philosophy of economics. One approach to economic freedom comes from the liberal tradition emphasizing free markets, free trade, and private property under free enterprise. Another approach to economic freedom extends the welfare economics study of individual choice, with greater economic freedom coming from a larger set of possible choices. Other conceptions of economic freedom include freedom from want and the freedom to engage in collective bargaining.

Catawissa is a borough in Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,552 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg–Berwick Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The original plans for the East Bloomsburg Bridge were drawn up on November 29, 1893.^[1]

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was built in 1894. The exact site chosen for it was near where a ferry crossed the Susquehanna River. It cost $73,299.67 to build. The cost of the superstructure was $35,500, the cost of the substructure was $35,415.46, and the cost of the filling and riprapping was $2384.21. The King Bridge Company was in charge of building the bridge's superstructure and Joseph Hendler was in charge of building the substructure.^[1] J.C. Brown constructed the plans for the bridge and was also the supervising engineer.^[2]

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was severely damaged during a flood in 1904, with parts of the bridge being swept away entirely.^[4]

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was heavily used from its construction until 1914. In 1914, it was redecked. The floor of the bridge was converted to laminated wood that was 4 inches (10 centimeters) thick and covered in a bituminous layer. In 1924, 3-inch (7.6-centimeter) thick white oak planks were laid diagonally on the bridge. By 1954, the bridge was in a significant state of deterioration, so it was redecked again, this time with steel. Guard rails were also added in this year. By 1984, the bridge was experiencing problems with rusting and its weight limit had been reduced to less than 10 tons.^[1]

By 1985, the bridge's ownership had passed to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.^[2]

The bridge was determined to be eligible for a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. However, on December 3, 1984, plans were made for the bridge's demolition in 1987.^[1] In the same year, it was replaced completely by a new bridge in the same location.^[5] Factors contributing to its demolition included its age and the lightweight design of its trusses.^[6] This new bridge was designated as the "Fort McClure Veterans Memorial Bridge" on December 5, 1988.^[7]

In 2005, the United States Geological Survey installed a gauging station near the site of the bridge. The things that were installed there included a microwave sensor for measuring stream flow and velocity.^[8]

Uses and legacy

After the construction of the East Bloomsburg Bridge, it was easier to directly access the Coal Region, Pottsville and the Centre Turnpike Road^{[note 1]} from Bloomsburg. Around this time, it also aided in the town of Bloomsburg's ability to transition from having iron mining as its main industry to having textile mills as its main industry. The bridge accomplished this by providing easier access to goods. In 1987, the East Bloomsburg Bridge was used by 6000 cars every day on average. The bridge provides access to U.S. Route 11.^[1]

As of 1987, the East Bloomsburg Bridge may be been the last bridge in Pennsylvania to have "Pennsylvania"-style trusses.^[1]

Notes

↑ The precursor to the modern-day Pennsylvania Route 61

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References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 East Bloomsburg Bridge Spanning the Susquehaima River at Pennsylvania (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-05, retrieved 2013Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
1 2 3 4 5 6 Modjeski and Masters (November 1985), EAST BLOOMSBURG BRIDGE COLUMBIA COUNTY: HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD DOCUMENTATION , retrieved September 30, 2013
↑ Eric DeLony (1993), Landmark American Bridges , retrieved September 30, 2013
↑ Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society (2009), Early Columbia County , retrieved September 30, 2013
↑ Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania , retrieved 2013Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
↑ Susan Zachar, Driving A Call to Action for Pennsylvania's Bridges , retrieved August 30, 2013
↑ Robert P. Casey (December 5, 1988), FORT MCCLURE VETERANS MEMORIAL BRIDGE - DESIGNATION (PDF), retrieved August 30, 2013
↑ USGS to add technology at East Bloomsburg Bridge, September 16, 2005, retrieved August 2013Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

Website with images of the East Bloomsburg Bridge

Coordinates: 40°59′33″N76°26′21″W / 40.9925°N 76.4393°W / 40.9925; -76.4393

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[9] The precursor to the modern-day Pennsylvania Route 61

[pa1737data-1] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 East Bloomsburg Bridge Spanning the Susquehaima River at Pennsylvania (PDF), archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-05, retrieved 2013Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[archivestream-2] 1 2 3 4 5 6 Modjeski and Masters (November 1985), EAST BLOOMSBURG BRIDGE COLUMBIA COUNTY: HISTORIC AMERICAN ENGINEERING RECORD DOCUMENTATION , retrieved September 30, 2013

[3] Eric DeLony (1993), Landmark American Bridges , retrieved September 30, 2013

[4] Columbia County Historical and Genealogical Society (2009), Early Columbia County , retrieved September 30, 2013

[5] Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania , retrieved 2013Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[6] Susan Zachar, Driving A Call to Action for Pennsylvania's Bridges , retrieved August 30, 2013

[7] Robert P. Casey (December 5, 1988), FORT MCCLURE VETERANS MEMORIAL BRIDGE - DESIGNATION (PDF), retrieved August 30, 2013

[8] USGS to add technology at East Bloomsburg Bridge, September 16, 2005, retrieved August 2013Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)