MORRISVILLEBridge route connecting Morrisville and Trenton turns 150
Posted: Monday, July 11, 2011 12:00 am | Updated: 6:46 am, Mon Jul 11, 2011.
Hundreds of cars pass over the Calhoun Street Bridge every day in Morrisville. But travel back to the turn of the 19th century and the scene would have been entirely different.
Then it was hundreds of horses passing over the span connecting East Trenton Avenue in the borough with Calhoun Street in Trenton.
And it wasn’t always called Calhoun Street Bridge.
When the original, 1,274-foot-long covered bridge opened to traffic in summer 1861, it was called the “City Bridge” and remained so until it burned down.
It was reconstructed with iron, eventually getting its current name. The connection between the two municipalities at that spot turned 150 years this month.
The City Bridge was a privately owned toll bridge that officially opened on July 1, 1861, the year the Civil War began.
The bridge was part of the original 3,389-mile long Lincoln Highway — America’s first transcontinental roadway, which connected New York City and San Francisco.
A sign referencing the bridge’s Lincoln Highway past is still visible on its downstream side near the Pennsylvania abutment. The blue and yellow sign — believed to be made of iron — has the Lincoln Highway emblem and arrows pointing to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and San Francisco.
The original wooden bridge was constructed and operated by the Trenton City Bridge Company. Nowadays it’s run by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which was formed in 1934 and operates seven toll bridges and 13 toll-supported bridges. Two are pedestrian-only spans.
Throughout the decades, the Calhoun Street bridge has undergone changes and a lot of history.
“It’s like a snapshot of the evolution of American transportation,” said Frank G. McCartney, executive director of the commission. “It was a ferry crossing, then a wooden bridge and then an iron structure that continues in service to this day. It has evolved from yesteryear’s horses, wagons and farm animals to the current high-volume commuter traffic volumes of today. The bridge’s storied past also includes a former trolley line and service as the Delaware River crossing point for the Lincoln Highway.”
The wooden bridge consisted of seven spans supported on stone masonry piers and abutments, which still support the current iron bridge superstructure, commission officials said. The covered bridge had been in service for 23 years until June 25, 1884, when a blaze destroyed it. The cause of the fire was believed to have been a careless cigar smoker.
The bridge was replaced but as an iron truss structure, which is what stands today.
It was built in 60 days with 83 workmen. It reopened on Oct. 20, 1884 as the Calhoun Street Toll-Supported Bridge. On that day wagons drawn by 16 horses, seven one-horse vehicles and 175 pedestrians crossed the bridge.
Iron components making up the current bridge were produced by the same company, the Phoenix Bridge Company of Phoenixville, Pa., that manufactured the internal iron support structure for the Washington Monument in the nation’s capital.
In the early days of the iron bridge, horses would make the ride, eventually sharing the road with vehicles. Horses had to be walked, vehicles couldn’t exceed 8 mph, and trucks couldn’t weigh more than 5 tons. If any of these regulations were violated, the fee was $30.
After the reconstruction, the bridge continued to be operated as a privately-owned toll bridge until Pennsylvania and New Jersey purchased it and made it a toll-free bridge on Nov. 14, 1928.
The 126-year-old bridge is the oldest existing vehicular superstructure in continuous use between the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, officials said.
Throughout the years, it has undergone numerous repairs and rehabilitations. The commission’s most recent rehabilitation was completed in 2010, which included repairs of the iron truss, improvements to the bridge rail and sidewalk safety features, along with new lighting and blast cleaning and painting. The $7.2 million rehabilitation project was part of the commission’s ongoing $1.2 billion capital improvement program, officials said.
Keeping the historical integrity of the bridge has won the commission recognition, including an Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New Jersey, a Historic Reservation award from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Historic Preservation Office and the New Jersey Historic Sites Council.
8 comments:
I've often wondered about the ladders that seem to go no where. This picture shows their true purpose, to access the large number of electrical wires that once used the bridge to cross the river. It is one of the nicer bridges crossing the river, however, the suspension bridge at Reigelsville and the famous Roebling Aqueduct are just a tad more interesting, both built by Roebling. Still, to have such a great example of Amercian Ingenuity and Craftsmanship in our little corner of the world is one of the many things of which we can be proud as Morrisvillains.
Now, if we could only do something about the traffic on these bridges......
Thanks for the good comments!
It's not like I've done a study, but it seems like Calhoun St. bridge traffic hasn't totally rebounded since the major work was finished last year.
People may have picked alternate routes and then stuck with them.
Morrisville is very special! bridges, riverfront, george washington, robert morris, large families who are deep rooted, on and on its a wonderful historical little known gem. We go away on vacation and always still happy to return home.
we dont want all that dirty jersey bridge traffic here. thats why we stopped that horrible gateway project that would have increased traffic to levels too large for our quite little town. thank GOD leaders in morrisville know this and save out town from the tax and spend leberals
Is the above a deliberate attempt at stupidity?
That was my first thought, but I actually think it's real.
Oh, and they want your vote to be on the school board for 4 more years.
"we dont want all that dirty jersey bridge traffic here. thats why we stopped that horrible gateway project that would have increased traffic to levels too large for our quite little town. thank GOD leaders in morrisville know this and save out town from the tax and spend leberals"
Wow. Just wow.
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