The "Understanding One's History: Part II" Story

Photo I took of the Veterans Memorial Bridge

It was an ordinary day.  Just got back from traveling across the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge which today is listed as State Rt. 462, although it is officially the Veterans Memorial Bridge which spans the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville.  Years ago it was U.S. Rt. 30 or as some people will remember it, the Lincoln Highway, but that is another story to be told in the future.  The beautiful and massive structure designed by James B. Long and built by Wiley-Maxon Construction, much photographed and painted, is 7,374 feet and is made of 100,000 cubic yards of concrete and 8 million pounds of steel reinforcing rod.  Wonder why it hasn't sunk into the river bed with those numbers.  

Photo of the Veterans Memorial Bridge from 1939

There are 28 arches which are each 185 feet long and, since it's opening in 1930, is still considered by architectural engineers to be one of the best examples of multi-span, reinforced-concrete arched bridges from the early 20th century.  The American Society of Civil Engineers named it a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.  It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  You can see why many, including myself love to look at it and wonder about its construction years ago.  When it first opened tolls of 25 cents per vehicle (equal to $3.44 today) were charged, but that ended on January 31, 1943 when the bond issue was retired.  After World War II the original lights were replaced with newer lighting.  I managed to locate a few of the original bronze lights and took a photo of them.  

The Wright's Ferry Bridge
(US Route 30) in 1986

When the newer Wright's Ferry Bridge (US Route 30) was built to the north in 1972, the state considered closing the bridge, but local residents objected and it never was closed.  It is considered the world's longest concrete multiple-arch bridge.  With all the historical information about the bridge, it should be noted that it is the 5th bridge to be constructed across the river between Columbia and Wrightsville.  The first bridge, known as the Theodore Burr's Bridge, was begun in 1812 and completed in 1814 and was 5,690 feet long and 30 feet wide, constructed of wood and stone.  It had 54 piers and twin carriageways and was covered with a wooden roof.  It had a whitewashed interior and openings in its wooden sides to view the river and surrounding areas.  Tolls for this bridge were $1.50 for a wagon and six horses ($18.82 today), and six cents for pedestrians (75 cents today).  On Feb. 5, 1832 it was destroyed by ice and high water on the Susquehanna.  The second bridge was another covered bridge, started in mid-1832 and opened on July 8, 1834.  It was 5,620 feet in length and was 28 feet wide.  The wood and stone structure had 27 piers, a carriageway, walkway, and two towpaths to guide canal traffic across the river.  Tolls on this were $1.00 for a wagon and 6 horses ($23.00 today) and 6 cents for pedestrians ($1.40 today).  Most of the oak for the bridge was salvaged from the previous bridge.  In 1840 the bridge was modified with towpaths of different levels to prevent horses from falling into the river when the river flooded.  Canal boats were towed across the river from the Pennsylvania Canal on the Columbia side to the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal at Wrightsville.  It was in 1863, during the Civil War, that this bridge was torched and destroyed to keep the Confederate Troops from advancing towards Pennsylvania capital city of Harrisburg.  The third bridge was started in 1868 by the Pennsylvania Railroad.  This covered bridge was 5,390 feet long and completed that same year.  Built of stone, wood and steel it had 27 piers, a carriageway, railway and walkway.  It was destroyed on Sept. 30, 1896 by a hurricane.  The fourth bridge, known as the Pennsylvania Railroad "Iron Bridge," started April 16, 1897 and was completed by May 11 of the same year.  Considered the fastest bridge-building job in the world at the time, it was a steel truss bridge made of 200-foot long prefabricated sections.  

The "Iron Bridge"

It was built on the same piers as the two previous bridges.  Tolls were also collected on this bridge to recoup the cost of the bridge.  The bridge had a railway, and twin carriageways that were shared by pedestrians.   This bridge was supposed to have an upper deck which was never completed.  The new Lincoln Highway, which was completed in 1925, caused massive traffic jams on the bridge, since cars had to wait for the trains to pass before crossing the river.  At this point a fifth bridge, the Veteran's Memorial Bridge, was planned and built to handle the vehicular and pedestrian traffic.  The "Iron Bridge" carried passenger trains until 1954 and freight traffic until 1958, then was dismantled for scrap starting in 1963.  The stone piers, dating to pre-Civil War times, which carried the "Iron Bridge" still stand next to the current Veteran's Memorial Bridge.  So, you can see why the crossing of the Susquehanna River is such a big thing.  Carried carriages, horses, army troops, trains and finally vehicular traffic since 1812.  I suspect that in my lifetime there will not be anymore bridges built to span this majestic river.  The newest and swiftest Wright's Ferry Bridge (US Rt. 30) is my choice if I am in a hurry, but the glorious and older Veteran's Memorial Bridge with it's long sweeping arches still remains my choice for it's beauty and character.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Burning of the second covered bridge during the Civil War.

Another photo of the second bridge which was a two-level bridge.

The Veterans Memorial Bridge shortly after it was built. 

Photo of the Wright's Ferry Bridge from the Veterans Memorial Bridge. 

Entrance to the Veterans Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River. 

Plaque that appears on both ends of the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

The piers that held the "Iron Bridge" can still be seen alongside the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

Tops of original bronze lights that were on the Veterans Memorial Bridge.  I found them standing in front of the Sahd Salvage Yard in Columbia.  My guess is they were gas lights when originally installed.