Bridge turns 125 years old
By: RACHEL CANELLI
Bucks County Courier Times
The bridge's iron was made by the same company that manufactured the metal for the Washington Monument.
The Calhoun Street Bridge turns 125 years old today, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced Monday.
The 1,274-foot bridge connecting Trenton and Morrisville opened Oct. 20, 1884, with more than 20 horse-drawn vehicles and 175 pedestrians crossing, officials said.
Made from 730 tons of iron and steel, the bridge supported an average of 18,500 vehicular trips per day last year. It's the commission's oldest and longest existing span and has iron manufactured by the same company that provided the metal for the Washington Monument, according to the commission.
The bridge is the second oldest in continuous operation across the Delaware River. The oldest is John Roebling's Lackawaxen Aqueduct, the nation's oldest wire suspension bridge between Minisink Ford, N.Y., and Lackawaxen, Pa., on the river above Port Jervis, N.Y., officials said.
Despite numerous repairs, including a rehabilitation project scheduled for 2010, the structure remains the same, said Frank G. McCartney, executive director of the commission.
"The Calhoun Street Bridge + played a significant role in the history of Trenton, Morrisville, and the surrounding region," McCartney said.
It was first part of the original 3,389-mile-long Lincoln Highway, the country's first transcontinental roadway and first national memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. The highway connected New York City and San Francisco, officials said.
The Calhoun Street Bridge was included in the highway until 1920, when the route changed to a non-toll bridge. It was bought by the Joint Commission for Eliminating Toll Bridges in November 1928 for $250,000, which would have been $3.1 million in 2008, according to the commission.
The bridge's stone masonry piers and abutments date back to the City Bridge, a 1,274-foot wooden bridge that opened in July 1861 and was destroyed in June 1884 by a fire believed to have been caused by a cigar. It was replaced by 83 men in 60 days, officials said.
The bridge is the second river crossing between Trenton and Morrisville. The first was a 1,008-foot covered wooden bridge in January 1806, where the Trenton Makes Bridge is now. It was torn down in 1875, officials said.
