42nd Street Bridge

   42nd Street Bridge

The 42nd Street Bridge over Amtrak and Norfolk Southern is a three-span, through-deck, concrete filled steel arch bridge. Built just after the turn of the century, this one-of-a-kind bridge spanned over a very busy Pennsylvania Railroad rail bed and led into an affluent section of West Philadelphia. It was built in 1909 by Owego Bridge Company of Owego, New York and was designed by Philadelphia Department of Public Works. It was built by the city of Philadelphia and is maintained by the same. Even though the bridge has an enormous historic significance it is unfortunately not found on the National Register for Historic Places (NRHP) and is only eligible to be on it. The specification for this bridge can be found in various government sources like  NBI, PENNDOT, Pennsylvania Bridge Management System and even online sources like Bridgehunter.com. The following are the id’s to identify this bridge in the different Databases:

67 7301 0270 0125 (Pennsylvania Bridge Management System number)

NBI 39260 (Pennsylvania bridge number on the 2015 NBI)

BH 31503 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

The bridge is a rare example of a historic metal through arch bridge. Metal through arch bridges are an uncommon structure type. The total length of the bridge is 308.1 feet and the main span length is 262 feet. The Bridge has a deck width of 30.8 with a vertical clearance of 10.4 ft. Average daily traffic on the bridge is about 2900 vehicles daily and carries a two lane street with sidewalks over four electrified tracks and two non-electrified tracks of the former Pennsylvania Railroad's main line.

This bridge is significant on a state level as the oldest steel through arch in Pennsylvania. Additional significance for the bridge arises from the fact that the bridge is built over Pennsylvania railroad’s mainline. The Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad was a rail line in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, connecting Philadelphia with Pittsburgh via Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) was built by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1832 as part of the Main Line of Public Works, a hybrid railroad and canal corridor across the state. This part of the Main Line is now operated by Amtrak.

During 1993 and 1995, the city of Philadelphia Bridge Section performed in-depth inspections to develop rehabilitation and reconstruction strategies. In 2006, the bridge received a second extensive rehabilitation. The rehabilitation was a compromise because a significant amount of original bridge material was replaced, reducing the historic integrity of the bridge, however doing so improved the structural condition of the bridge and can easily be expected to have a service life that will be equal to or greater than any modern bridge.Two years after the rehabilitation (2008), this bridge received a 9/10 (Excellent) by the National Bridge Inventory, for all three bridge elements: deck, superstructure and substructure. Such high ratings for a historic bridge, even one that has been rehabilitated, are nearly unheard of.