Great Crossings Bridge

Last updated

Great Crossings Bridge
GreatCrossingsBridge2024-11-3.jpg
Coordinates 39°45′19″N79°23′48″W / 39.755411°N 79.396735°W / 39.755411; -79.396735
Crosses Youghiogheny River
Locale Confluence, Pennsylvania
Characteristics
Design Stone arch bridge
Total length375 ft (114 m)
Width30 ft (9 m)
Height40 ft (12 m)
History
Construction start1815
Opened4 July 1818
Location
Great Crossings Bridge

The Great Crossings Bridge is a masonry bridge which is on the National Road between Somerset County and Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It crosses the Youghiogheny River near Confluence, Pennsylvania.

History and architectural features

Built during the early nineteenth century, near a ford that had been in use by Europeans since George Washington's 1753 journey to Fort LeBoeuf, the 375-foot (114 m) long, 40-foot (12 m) high, 30-foot (9.1 m) wide sandstone bridge with three arches was erected between 1813 and 1818 by James Kinkead, James Beck and Evan Evans, and was dedicated on July 4, 1818 at an event attended by President James Monroe. [1]

The town of Somerfield, Pennsylvania, which was originally named Smythfield, was built at the eastern end of the bridge in 1817. The bridge and town were later inundated by Youghiogheny River Lake, [1] a reservoir that began filling in 1940. [2]

The bridge remains standing in the reservoir, just downstream from the present U.S. Route 40 bridge. [1] [3] The bridge is normally submerged year-round, but is occasionally accessible during periods of drought when the water level in the lake drops significantly. While the normal low-water mark during winter is at an elevation of 1,419 feet (433 m), the top of the bridge is visible at 1,392 feet (424 m) and the deck is exposed at 1,384 feet (422 m). [4] [5]

In November 2024, a drought completely exposed the Great Crossings Bridge as well as the remains of the city of Somerville. Over 10,000 people have visited the location since the bridge was exposed. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Road</span> Early American highway

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somerset County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Somerset County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 74,129. Its county seat is Somerset. The county was created from part of Bedford County on April 17, 1795, and named after the county of Somerset in England. The county is part of the Southwest Pennsylvania region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connellsville, Pennsylvania</span> City in Pennsylvania, United States

Connellsville is a city in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, 36 miles (58 km) southeast of Pittsburgh and 50 miles (80 km) away via the Youghiogheny River, a tributary of the Monongahela River. It is part of the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The population was 7,031 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Travis</span> Reservoir in central Texas, USA

Lake Travis is a reservoir on the Colorado River in central Texas in the United States. It is named in honor of William B. Travis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monongahela River</span> River in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, United States

The Monongahela River, sometimes referred to locally as the Mon, is a 130-mile-long (210 km) river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and Southwestern Pennsylvania. The river flows from the confluence of its west and east forks in north-central West Virginia northeasterly into southwestern Pennsylvania, then northerly to Pittsburgh and its confluence with the Allegheny River to form the Ohio River. The river includes a series of locks and dams that makes it navigable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cowlitz River</span> River in Washington, United States

The Cowlitz River is a river in the state of Washington in the United States, a tributary of the Columbia River. Its tributaries drain a large region including the slopes of Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, and Mount St. Helens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Buchanan (Texas)</span> Man-made lake in Texas, United States

Lake Buchanan was formed by the construction of Buchanan Dam by the Lower Colorado River Authority to provide a water supply for the region and to provide hydroelectric power. Buchanan Dam, a structure over 2 mi (3.2 km) in length, was completed in 1939. Lake Buchanan was the first of the Texas Highland Lakes to be formed, and with 22,333 acres of surface water, it is also the largest. The surface of the lake includes area in both Burnet and Llano Counties. The lake is west of the city of Burnet, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Mead</span> Reservoir on the Colorado River in Arizona and Nevada

Lake Mead is a reservoir formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River in the Southwestern United States. It is located in the states of Nevada and Arizona, 24 mi (39 km) east of Las Vegas. It is the largest reservoir in the US in terms of water capacity. Lake Mead provides water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada as well as some of Mexico, providing sustenance to nearly 20 million people and large areas of farmland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Powell</span> Reservoir in Utah and Arizona, United States

Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona, United States. It is a major vacation destination visited by approximately two million people every year. It holds 24,322,000 acre-feet (3.0001×1010 m3) of water when full, second in the United States to only Lake Mead - though Lake Mead has fallen below Lake Powell in size several times during the 21st century in terms of volume of water, depth and surface area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youghiogheny River</span> River in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland, U.S.

The Youghiogheny River, or the Yough for short, is a 134-mile-long (216 km) tributary of the Monongahela River in West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. It drains an area on the west side of the Allegheny Mountains northward into Pennsylvania, providing a small watershed in extreme western Maryland into the tributaries of the Mississippi River. Youghiogheny is a Lenape word meaning "a stream flowing in a contrary direction".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sevier River</span> River in central Utah, United States

The Sevier River is a 400-mile (640 km)-long river in the Great Basin of southwestern Utah in the United States. Originating west of Bryce Canyon National Park, the river flows north through a chain of high farming valleys and steep canyons along the west side of the Sevier Plateau before turning southwest and terminating in the endorheic basin of Sevier Lake in the Sevier Desert. It is used extensively for irrigation along its course, with the consequence that Sevier Lake is usually dry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuttle Creek Lake</span> Kansas reservoir on the Big Blue River

Tuttle Creek Lake is a reservoir on the Big Blue River 5 miles (8 km) north of Manhattan, in the Flint Hills region of northeast Kansas. It was built and is operated by the Army Corps of Engineers for the primary purpose of flood control. Secondary functions of the project include release of water stores to maintain barge traffic on the Mississippi River during seasons of drought, maintenance of a multi-use conservation pool for fish and wildlife enhancement and recreation, and release of sufficient water in droughts to maintain water quality for downstream communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Hartwell</span> Reservoir on the Georgia/South Carolina border, United States

Lake Hartwell is a man-made reservoir bordering Georgia and South Carolina and encompassing parts of the Savannah, Tugaloo, and Seneca rivers. Lake Hartwell is one of the largest recreation lakes in the Southeastern United States. It was created by the construction of the Hartwell Dam, completed in 1962 and located on the Savannah River seven miles (11 km) below the point where the Tugaloo and Seneca Rivers join to form the Savannah. Extending 49 miles (79 km) up the Tugaloo and 45 miles (72 km) up the Seneca at normal pool elevation, the lake comprises nearly 56,000 acres (230 km2) of water with a shoreline of 962 miles (1,548 km). The entire Hartwell reservoir project contains 76,450 acres (309 km2) of land and water. Interstate highway 85 bisects Lake Hartwell, making the area easily accessible to visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohiopyle State Park</span> State park in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States

Ohiopyle State Park is a Pennsylvania state park on 20,500 acres (8,300 ha) in Dunbar, Henry Clay and Stewart Townships, Fayette County, Pennsylvania in the United States. The focal point of the park is the more than 14 miles (23 km) of the Youghiogheny River gorge that passes through the park. The river provides whitewater boating, recreational fishing, and kayaking. Ohiopyle State Park is bisected by Pennsylvania Route 381 south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The park opened to the public in 1965 but was not officially dedicated until 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Youghiogheny River Lake</span> Reservoir in and Garrett County, Maryland

The Youghiogheny River Lake is a flood control reservoir that is located in southwestern Pennsylvania and western Maryland. It is a significant tourist attraction that brings in more than one million visitors a year to the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Raven Reservoir</span> Reservoir in Baltimore County, Maryland

The Loch Raven Reservoir is a reservoir that provides drinking water for the City of Baltimore and most of Baltimore County, Maryland. It is fed by the Big Gunpowder Falls river, and has a capacity of 23 billion US gallons (87,000,000 m3) of water.

The Memorial Bridge is a structure that crosses the Youghiogheny River, connecting the eastern and western shores of Connellsville, Pennsylvania, US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stafford Meadow Brook</span> River in Pennsylvania, US

Stafford Meadow Brook is a tributary of the Lackawanna River in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is approximately 11.2 miles (18.0 km) long and flows through Roaring Brook Township, Scranton, and Moosic. The watershed of the stream has an area of 14.1 square miles (37 km2). Part of it is designated as a High-Quality Coldwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. The other part is a Warmwater Fishery and a Migratory Fishery. The stream has one named tributary, which is known as Mountain Lake Run. Stafford Meadow Brook has a very high level of water quality for much of its length and part of it meets the criteria for an Exceptional Value designation. The stream begins on the Pocono Plateau and flows through the Moosic Mountains in a mountainous watershed. Its channel has been substantially altered in its lower reaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair Gap</span>

Blair Gap, one of the gaps of the Allegheny, is a water gap along the eastern face atop the Allegheny Front escarpment. Like other gaps of the Allegheny, the slopes of Blair Gap were amenable to foot travel, pack mules, and possibly wagons allowing Amerindians, and then, after about 1778–1780 settlers, to travel west into the relatively depopulated Ohio Country decades before the railroads were born and tied the country together with steel.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Lowry, Patricia (January 7, 1999). "A bridge to the 19th century". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  2. Heberling, Scott D. (2010). Historic Stone Bridges of Somerset County, Pennsylvania (PDF). Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. p. 7. ISBN   978-0-89271-126-0.
  3. Hay, Dave (January 31, 2019). "History of the Great Crossings Bridge and Youghoigheny River towns". Daily American. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  4. Himler, Jeff (October 26, 2024). "206-year-old bridge a sight to see for visitors to depleted Yough River Lake". TribLive.com. Retrieved November 2, 2024.
  5. USGS Water-Year Summary for Site 03077000, U.S. Geological Survey , retrieved November 2, 2024
  6. Lindenmuth, Kaylee (November 18, 2024). "Drought exposes piece of Pennsylvania history". acb27.com. WHTM-TV . Retrieved January 11, 2025.