Hill to Hill Bridge

Last updated

Hill to Hill Bridge
PA 378 on the Hill to Hill.jpg
Hill to Hill Bridge heading northbound in October 2005
Coordinates 40°36′56″N75°23′05″W / 40.6155°N 75.3846°W / 40.6155; -75.3846
Carries4 lanes of PA-378.svg PA 378 and 2 sidewalks
Crosses Lehigh River
Locale Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Official nameHill to Hill Bridge
Other name(s)Route 378 Bridge
Characteristics
Design concrete arch truss bridge
History
Opened1924
Statistics
TollFree
Location
Hill to Hill Bridge

The Hill to Hill Bridge is a road crossing of the Lehigh River and linking the south and north sides of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

Contents

Completed in 1924, Hill to Hill Bridge carries Pennsylvania Route 378 from Wyandotte Street on Bethlehem's south side to a series of ramps and viaducts on the north side. It replaced a two-lane covered bridge and eliminated several grade crossings of three railroads on the two banks of the Lehigh River. The Hill to Hill Bridge is located in the Central Bethlehem Historic District and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 with a boundary increase to the designation added in 1988. [1]

History

A 1906 photograph of the old bridge, which was replaced in September 1924 with the opening of Hill to Hill Bridge, which crosses the Lehigh River and connects the north and south sides of Bethlehem Old Bridge, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania postcard photograph from 1906.JPG
A 1906 photograph of the old bridge, which was replaced in September 1924 with the opening of Hill to Hill Bridge, which crosses the Lehigh River and connects the north and south sides of Bethlehem
Hill to Hill Bridge in Bethlehem, September 2013 Hill to Hill Bridge, Bethlehem PA 02.JPG
Hill to Hill Bridge in Bethlehem, September 2013
Hill to Hill Bridge dedication plaque, placed 1924 on Bridge Street ramp to Main Street Hill to Hill Bridge dedication plaque, placed 1924 on Bridge Street ramp to Main Street.jpg
Hill to Hill Bridge dedication plaque, placed 1924 on Bridge Street ramp to Main Street

Early history

Prior to Bethlehem's incorporation as a city in 1917, the north side and the south side were independent municipalities. During the latter part of the 1910s, three bridges crossed between Bethlehem and South Bethlehem: the Minsi Trail bridge, the New Street bridge, and the Main Street covered bridge.

The Main Street bridge was narrow and was regularly damaged by floods and ice. It crossed several tracks of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Reading Railroad on the south side as it led to Wyandotte Street. The Pacific Hotel stood between the southern portal to the covered bridge; the adjacent image shows the active freight and passenger railroad tracks travelers crossed to reach the bridge. Union Station was the passenger station of the Lehigh Valley and Reading Railroads with service to Buffalo, Harrisburg, New York City at Jersey City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

On the north side, the bridge crossed the Lehigh Canal and the tracks of the Central Railroad of New Jersey before continuing up Seminary Hill, named for the Moravian Church's Female Seminary, to the Main Street business district.

Construction

Community leaders found the covered bridge to be a barrier to commerce between "the Bethlehems". As a result of the consolidation of the two municipalities into a single city, sufficient resources became available to design and construct a new bridge connecting Fountain Hill and Seminary Hill.

By 1921, a commission was in place to design and oversee the construction of the new Lehigh River span. Commission members were the city's first mayor, Archibald Johnston (chairman), J.S. Krause (vice-chairman), G.H. Blakeley, O.L. Henninger (representing Lehigh County), A.A. Woodring (representing Northampton County), A. Geo. Shoffner (secretary), Dallett H. Wilson (counsel) and C.W. Hudson (engineer). [2]

Construction on the Hill to Hill Bridge began on August 1, 1921, after many previous plans. As constructed, the bridge had nine approaches, eleven abutments, forty-eight piers, and fifty-eight spans. It was considered an engineering marvel of its time. By September 1924, the bridge was complete and opened by mayor James Yeakel and provided safe, grade-separated connections between the two halves of the city.

A 52-page brochure was distributed as a part of the public dedication in September 1924.

Pictorial narrative of design and construction of Bethlehem's Hill-to-Hill Bridge Hill-to-Hill Bridge.pdf
Pictorial narrative of design and construction of Bethlehem’s Hill-to-Hill Bridge

Modernization

The structure of the Hill to Hill Bridge was modified significantly during the years after World War II. The first significant change to traffic on the bridge came during the construction of the expressway portion of PA Route 378 north of the bridge, known locally as the Spur Route. Initially, the Second Avenue ramp on the north side was closed in 1967. In 1968, the expressway portion was opened.

Three other ramps were removed as part of safety, structural, and redevelopment efforts. On the north side, the South Main Street ramp leading to Lehigh Street and the industrial area along Monocacy Creek was removed in 1965. The River Street ramp leading to Sand Island was removed in 1988. On the south side, the Second Street ramp was removed in 1989. [3]

The bridge saw extensive repairs in 1990, and was painted in spring of 2009. The painting process had caused two of the four traffic lanes to be closed, and had resulted in major traffic congestion. The painting project was finished in time for the opening of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, which was later renamed Wind Creek Bethlehem after its acquisition by Wind Creek Hospitality.

Bridge structure

The bridge is noted for its many ramps and branches. It was designed by Clarence W. Hudson and its structure makes use of "a combination of steel through truss and concrete closed spandrel deck arch spans" [3] A unique characteristic of the bridge was the design of the two truss spans, needed to provide clearance over the railroads. Because the Second Street ramp intersected the bridge at the point of the southern truss span, the normal diagonal trusses could not be included. Engineer C.W. Hudson designed an alternative truss configuration, now known as the Hudson truss, which allowed an opening in the truss web between its vertical members. [3] This bridge's spans are the only known examples of this truss configuration.

1924 (original) ramps and overcrossings from south to north

Sketch schematic of Hill-to-Hill Bridge approaches and overcrossings as of opening date in 1924. Hill-to-Hill Bridge 1924.jpg
Sketch schematic of Hill-to-Hill Bridge approaches and overcrossings as of opening date in 1924.

Current ramps and overcrossings from south to north

Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in December 2014 OSM Hill to Hill Bridge in 2014.tiff
Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in December 2014

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781, making it the second-largest city in the Lehigh Valley after Allentown and the seventh-largest city in the state. Among its total population as of 2020, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19,343 were in Lehigh County. The city is located along the Lehigh River, a 109-mile-long (175 km) tributary of the Delaware River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Betsy Ross Bridge</span> Bridge connecting Philadelphia and New Jersey

The Betsy Ross Bridge is a continuous steel truss bridge spanning the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Pennsauken, New Jersey. It was built from 1969 to 1974, and opened in April 1976, during the American Bicentennial Year. It was originally planned to be named as the "Delair Bridge", after a paralleling vertical lift bridge owned by Pennsylvania Railroad, which is now used by Conrail Shared Assets Operations and New Jersey Transit's Atlantic City Line, but was instead later named for Betsy Ross, a Philadelphia seamstress and reputed creator of the first American flag in 1776. It was the first automotive bridge named for a woman in the United States, and the second U.S. bridge overall named for a woman after Iowa's Boone High Bridge was renamed the Kate Shelley High Bridge in 1912.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Company</span> American transport company

The Reading Company was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and freight transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states from 1924 until its acquisition by Conrail in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Line (NJ Transit)</span> Commuter rail line in New Jersey

The Main Line is a commuter rail line owned and operated by New Jersey Transit running from Suffern, New York to Hoboken, New Jersey, in the United States. It runs daily commuter service and was once the north–south main line of the Erie Railroad. It is colored yellow on NJ Transit system maps, and its symbol is a water wheel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of Jersey City, New Jersey-area railroads</span>

For the purposes of this article, the Jersey City area extends North to Edgewater, South to Bayonne and includes Kearny Junction and Harrison but not Newark. Many routes east of Newark are listed here.

The Lehigh and New England Railroad was a Class I railroad located in Northeastern United States that acted as a bridge line. It was the second notable U.S. railroad to file for abandonment in its entirety after the New York, Ontario and Western Railway. It was headquartered in Philadelphia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 191</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 191 is a 111.54 mi (179.51 km)-long state highway in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The route, a major non-freeway corridor connecting the Lehigh Valley to the Pocono Mountains in eastern Pennsylvania, is designated from U.S. Route 22 in Brodhead near Bethlehem to the New York state line over the Delaware River at Hancock, New York.

The New Jersey West Line Railroad was a proposed railroad running east and west across Northern New Jersey, of which the only part constructed was what is now the Gladstone Branch of New Jersey Transit between Summit and Bernardsville. Some other remains of it can be found in Summit, Millburn, and Union Township.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 378</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 378 (PA 378) is a north-to-south road in Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The southern terminus is at PA 309 in Center Valley. Its northern terminus is at U.S. Route 22 (US 22) in Bethlehem. The route heads north from PA 309 as a two-lane undivided road through Upper Saucon Township and Lower Saucon Township before crossing South Mountain into Bethlehem. Here, PA 378 follows city streets through Bethlehem's South Side, intersecting the northern terminus of PA 412. The route becomes a four-lane freeway and crosses the Lehigh River before continuing north to US 22. PA 378 is the only highway from US 22 to Center City Bethlehem, and a quick route for visitors traveling to the Wind Creek Bethlehem casino resort on the city's South Side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Route 412</span> State highway in Pennsylvania, US

Pennsylvania Route 412 is a 17.75-mile-long (28.57 km) north–south state route located in Bucks and Northampton counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. Its southern terminus is at PA 611 in the Nockamixon Township community of Harrow. Its northern terminus is at PA 378 in Bethlehem.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 22 in Pennsylvania</span> Highway in Pennsylvania

U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from Cincinnati, Ohio, in the west, to Newark, New Jersey, in the east. In Pennsylvania, the route runs for 338.20 miles (544.28 km) between the West Virginia state line in Washington County, where it is a freeway through the western suburbs of Pittsburgh, and then runs east to Easton and the Pennsylvania–New Jersey state line in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Route 1002 (Lehigh County, Pennsylvania)</span> Highway in Pennsylvania

State Route 1002(SR 1002), locally known as Tilghman Street and Union Boulevard, is a major 13.8 mi (22.2 km) long east–west road in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The majority of the roadway is the former alignment of U.S. Route 22, maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as a Quadrant Route, and is not signed except on small white segment markers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Philadelphia Elevated</span> Railroad viaduct in Pennsylvania, United States

The West Philadelphia Elevated, also known as the High Line or Philadelphia High Line, is a railroad viaduct in the western part of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now part of the Harrisburg Subdivision of CSX Transportation, the viaduct was built in 1903 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to allow through freight trains to bypass rail yard, industrial sidings, and a passenger station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 78 in Pennsylvania</span> Highway in Pennsylvania, US

Interstate 78 (I-78) is a major east–west Interstate Highway stretching from Union Township, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, in the west to the Holland Tunnel and New York City in the east. In Pennsylvania, I-78 runs for about 78 miles (126 km) from the western terminus at I-81 in Union Township east to the New Jersey state line near Easton in Northampton County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 22 in New Jersey</span> Highway in New Jersey

U.S. Route 22 (US 22) is a United States Numbered Highway stretching from Cincinnati, Ohio, in the west to Newark, New Jersey, in the east. In New Jersey, the route runs for 60.53 miles (97.41 km) from the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge over the Delaware River in Phillipsburg, Warren County, to Interstate 78 (I-78), US 1/9, and Route 21 at the Newark Airport Interchange in Newark, Essex County. The road first heads through the Phillipsburg–Alpha area as an arterial road before running concurrent with I-78 through mountainous and agricultural sections of western New Jersey between Alpha and east of Clinton in Hunterdon County. For the remainder of the route, US 22 runs to the south of I-78 through mostly suburban areas as a four- to six-lane arterial road, passing through Hunterdon, Somerset, Union, and Essex counties. Along this portion, it intersects US 202 and US 206 in Somerville, I-287 in Bridgewater Township, and the Garden State Parkway in Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point-No-Point Bridge</span> Bridge in United States of America

Point-No-Point Bridge is a railroad bridge crossing the Passaic River between Newark and Kearny, New Jersey, United States, in the New Jersey Meadowlands. The swing bridge is the fourth from the river's mouth at Newark Bay and is 2.6 miles (4.2 km) upstream from it. A camelback through truss bridge, it is owned by Conrail as part of its North Jersey Shared Assets and carries the Passaic and Harsimus Line used by CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern. River Subdivision accesses the line via Marion Junction. Conrail is replacing the bridge, which was opened in 1901. Work began in November 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allentown station (Central Railroad of New Jersey)</span> Defunct train station in Allentown, Pennsylvania

Allentown station is a defunct train station in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was constructed by the Central Railroad of New Jersey (CNJ) and Reading Railroad in 1888 and 1889. For most of the late 19th and early 20th century, it provided passenger train service between Allentown and various U.S. Coast locations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lehigh Line (Norfolk Southern)</span> Railroad line in central New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania

The Lehigh Line is a railroad line in Central New Jersey, Northeastern Pennsylvania, and the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway. The line runs west from the vicinity of the Port of New York and New Jersey in Manville, New Jersey via Conrail's Lehigh Line to the southern end of Wyoming Valley's Coal Region in Lehigh Township, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Keim, R.R. (1924). The Hill-to-Hill Bridge [of] Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Times Publishing Company. p. 21.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hill to Hill Bridge - Historicbridges.org". Historic Bridges Bridge Browser. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  4. Keim, R.R. (1924). The Hill-to-Hill Bridge [of] Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: Times Publishing Company.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)