The Riegelsville Bridge is a suspension bridge crossing the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

Riegelsville, Pennsylvania Riegelsville is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 868 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden Metropolitan Statistical Area, des ...

, connecting it with Riegelsville, New Jersey, United States.

History

Traffic across the Delaware River at Riegelsville, Pennsylvania, was handled by Wendel and Anthony Shenk's oar powered ferries until December 15, 1837, when a three-

span Span may refer to: Science, technology and engineering * Span (unit), the width of a human hand * Span (engineering), a section between two intermediate supports * Wingspan, the distance between the wingtips of a bird or aircraft * Sorbitan ester ...

, wooden

covered bridge A covered bridge is a timber-truss bridge with a roof, decking, and siding, which in most covered bridges create an almost complete enclosure. The purpose of the covering is to protect the wooden structural members from the weather. Uncovered woo ...

was opened to horse, wagon, and pedestrian use. The Pennsylvania and New Jersey legislatures had approved the formation of the private Riegelsville Delaware Bridge Corporation in 1835 and the company engaged Solon Chapin and

James Madison Porter James Madison Porter (January 6, 1793 – November 11, 1862) served as the 18th United States Secretary of War and a founder of Lafayette College. Porter began his career studying law in 1809 and later became a clerk in the prothonotary's of ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

as the contractors. A major flood struck the

Delaware Valley The Delaware Valley is a metropolitan region on the East Coast of the United States that comprises and surrounds Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation and 68th largest city in the world as of 2020. The toponym Delaware Val ...

on January 8, 1841, just three years after the bridge opened, and the span nearest the Jersey shore was destroyed. The bridge was repaired and survived another flood in June 1862. The "Pumpkin Flood" occurred on October 10, 1903, and the Delaware waters rose to above normal. The two spans nearest to New Jersey were quickly swept down the river. The third section collapsed soon after. The

wire rope Steel wire rope (right hand lang lay) Wire rope is several strands of metal wire twisted into a helix forming a composite ''rope'', in a pattern known as ''laid rope''. Larger diameter wire rope consists of multiple strands of such laid rope in a ...

and engineering firm of

John A. Roebling John Augustus Roebling (born Johann August Röbling; June 12, 1806 – July 22, 1869) was a German-born American civil engineer. He designed and built wire rope suspension bridges, in particular the Brooklyn Bridge, which has been designated as ...

's Sons Co., based in

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

. This new bridge incorporated the original

pier image:Brighton Pier, Brighton, East Sussex, England-2Oct2011 (1).jpg, Seaside pleasure pier in Brighton, England. The first seaside piers were built in England in the early 19th century. A pier is a raised structure that rises above a body of ...

s which were repaired and raised several feet, allowing it to survive major damage from the flood of 1936 and to come through a 1955 deluge relatively unscathed. Together, the three spans are in length and the final cost of construction was $30,000. It opened on April 18, 1904. Roebling's original design for the bridge employed main

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

s in diameter. Professor James Madison Porter III, the grandson of the builder of the earlier Riegelsville bridge, was asked to evaluate the new design and felt the need for additional cables of diameter, which were added to the plans. The Riegelsville suspension bridge collected tolls until it was purchased by the Joint Commission for Eliminating Tolls and is currently maintained by the

Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) is a bistate, public agency that maintains and operates river crossings connecting the U.S. states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The agency's jurisdiction stretches roughly along the Dela ...

using revenues generated from larger, more heavily trafficked crossings. The bridge has a 3-ton weight limit. It was added to the

New Jersey Register of Historic Places The New Jersey Register of Historic Places is the official list of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The program is administered by the New Jersey's state historic preservation office within ...

on March 22, 2010. File:Riegelsville Bridge 2.jpg, Roebling's 1904 suspension bridge at Riegelsville File:Riegelsville Bridge - looking east.jpg, Bridge detail, looking east

References

External links

* {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Riegelsville Bridge , bridge signs = , upstream =

Interstate 78 Toll Bridge The Interstate 78 Toll Bridge (I-78 Toll Bridge) carries Interstate 78 across the Delaware River between Williams Township, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg, New Jersey in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey in th ...

, upstream signs = , downstream = Upper Black Eddy–Milford Bridge , downstream signs = Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission 1904 establishments in New Jersey 1904 establishments in Pennsylvania Road bridges in New Jersey Road bridges in Pennsylvania Bridges over the Delaware River Suspension bridges in New Jersey Suspension bridges in Pennsylvania Bridges completed in 1904 Bridges in Bucks County, Pennsylvania Pohatcong Township, New Jersey Historic American Engineering Record in New Jersey Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania Former toll bridges in New Jersey Former toll bridges in Pennsylvania Bridges in Warren County, New Jersey Interstate vehicle bridges in the United States New Jersey Register of Historic Places

History

See also

References

External links