Lloyd Street Bridge

Information and Findings From Pennsylvania's Historic Bridge Inventory

Discussion of Bridge

The 3-span bridge built in 1899 consists of a 74'-long riveted Warren with verticals pony truss span and 2 flanking steel thru girder approach spans. Cantilevered sidewalks have angle railings with attached corrugated sheet metal siding to protect the catenary. The bridge is supported on built-up steel column bents and ashlar abutments. The truss has significant alterations including replacement of rivets with bolts at the upper chord connections, the addition of welded cover plates to the lower chords, and concrete encasement of the lower chord connections (1947). The bridge is an altered and undistinguished example of the rivetconnected Warren pony truss bridge type that was popular from about 1895 to 1915. Over 125 Warren truss highway bridges have been identified by the survey. The truss bridge is a typical overhead bridge that has lost integrity and thus noncontributing to the Northeast Corridor's significance.

Discussion of Surrounding Area

The bridge carries a 2 lane street and 2 sidewalks over 4 tracks of Amtrak's historically significant Northeast Corridor. This section of the line was developed in 1838 by the Philadephia, Wilmington and Baltimore RR and taken over by the PRR in 1881. It was quadruple tracked in the late 1890s, and electrified in 1926-28. At the bridge's northwest quadrant is an abandoned switch house and beyond that a housing project (ca. 1970). To the northeast is a junk yard. To the south of the tracks are late-19th-century brick row houses and duplexes, most with irreversible alterations including stucco siding, replacement fenestration, and enclosed porches.

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: Yes