Chestnut Street Bridge

For the bridge in Detroit, see Chestnut Street Bridge (Detroit).

Chestnut Street Bridge
Chestnut Street Bridge, ca. 1869, looking West
Carries	Chestnut Street (PA 3 eastbound)
Crosses	Schuylkill River Schuylkill Expressway
ID number	670003009022930
Design	Steel continuous, Girder and Floorbeam System
Total length	113.1 metres (371 ft)
Width	13.5 metres (44 ft) (roadway)
Load limit	65.7 t (72.4 short tons)
Clearance below	8.2 metres (27 ft)
Opened	1957
Daily traffic	16109 (2006)
Coordinates	39°57′11″N 75°10′52″W / 39.95306°N 75.18111°W / 39.95306; -75.18111Coordinates: 39°57′11″N 75°10′52″W / 39.95306°N 75.18111°W / 39.95306; -75.18111

The Chestnut Street Bridge is a bridge across the Schuylkill River that carries Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. The original 1861 bridge was "a bridge whose scale and use of cast iron made it singular in the United States and throughout the world".^[1] The 1957 bridge, now one way, carries PA Route 3 eastbound and continues to help connect West Philadelphia with the rest of the city.

History

Stereo image pair of the Chestnut Street Bridge c. 1865-1907

Construction of the first Chestnut Street Bridge, designed by Strickland Kneass,^[2] started on 4 September 1861.^[3][4] That bridge cost $500,000, was 1,528 feet (466 m) long, and was constructed of cast iron, with approaches and piers of granite.^[3] When the bridge formally opened on 23 June 1866,^[5] it was the second connection between Center City Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, after the Market Street Bridge.^[2]

In 1957, to make way for the Schuylkill Expressway, the western pier of the bridge was removed, and the main spans of the bridge were replaced.^[1]

In 2011, a weight restriction was placed on it due to its age.

In Film

• In the popular film Shooter (2007 film), FBI agent Nick Memphis (Played by Michael Peña) is abducted while walking across the Chestnut street bridge.
• One episode of Hack (American TV series) was filmed on the bridge.^[6]

See also

List of crossings of the Schuylkill River

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Creativity in Cast Iron: Strickland Kneass’s Chestnut Street Bridge". http://www.phillyhistory.org/blog/archive/2008/02/21/creativity-in-cast-iron-strickland-kneasss-chestnut-street-bridge.aspx. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "WEST PHILADELPHIA - "THE GENESIS OF 'THE CITY ACROSS THE RIVER'"". http://www.uchs.net/Rosenthal/wphila.html. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "A Tour of Philadelphia's Waterfront in 1876". http://www.phillyh2o.org/backpages/Philadelphia_WaterFront_1876.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
4. ^ "Civil War History in Philadelphia, PA". http://www.pacivilwar.com/county/philadelphiahistory.html. Retrieved 2008-03-14. 
5. ^ "Philadelphia Timeline, 1866". http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/timeline/1866.htm. Retrieved 2006-10-01. 
6. ^ "Jim Loftus: Getting The Hack of "Hack"". http://www.davidmorse.org/news/HackofHack.html. Retrieved 2009-10-19. 

External links

• 1869 photo of the bridge
• Library of Congress (HAER) Photos of the original bridge before it was torn down in 1957