Chestnut Street Bridge (Philadelphia)

Chestnut Street Bridge
Chestnut Street Bridge, ca. 2017, looking east
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
Carries Chestnut Street
Crosses Schuylkill River
Schuylkill Expressway
ID number 670003009022930
Characteristics
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)
History
Opened 1957
Statistics
Daily traffic 16109 (2006)

The Chestnut Street Bridge is a bridge across the Schuylkill River that carries Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, 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, helps connect West Philadelphia with the rest of the city.

History

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, FBI agent Nick Memphis (played by Michael Peña) is abducted while walking across the Chestnut street bridge.
  • One episode of Hack was filmed on the bridge.[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Creativity in Cast Iron: Strickland Kneass's Chestnut Street Bridge". Archived from the original on 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  2. 1 2 "WEST PHILADELPHIA - "THE GENESIS OF 'THE CITY ACROSS THE RIVER'"". Retrieved 2006-10-01.
  3. 1 2 "A Tour of Philadelphia's Waterfront in 1876". Retrieved 2006-10-01.
  4. ↑ "Civil War History in Philadelphia, PA". Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  5. ↑ "Philadelphia Timeline, 1866". Retrieved 2006-10-01.
  6. ↑ "Jim Loftus: Getting The Hack of "Hack"". Retrieved 2009-10-19.
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