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Key Facts |
Bridge Name | Type | Road | Location | City | Crossing |
| Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge | Truss | Bridge Street | Beaver County, PA | Bridgewater and Rochester | Ohio River |
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Technical Facts |
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Construction Date |
Rehabilitation Date |
Main Spans |
Structure Length | Deck Width |
| 1933 | 1977 | 3 | 61 Feet | 35 Feet |
While the historic bridge inventory blindly calls all of Pennsylvania's massive-membered bridges bridges standard and common, they are only semi-standard, and these fast-disappearing bridges are anything but common on today's roadways. Michigan for example has not a single bridge remaining that is like Pennsylvania's massive-membered bridges, and so not only are they uncommon these days on Pennsylvania roads, they are even less common out-of-state. Plus, although these bridges were indeed clearly built to a standard plan, these bridges varied greatly from bridge to bridge, much like Michigan's Concrete Camelback bridges, in terms of design, appearance, and setting. For instance, the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge was built to the same plan as the Tidioute Bridge, or the Parker Bridge. However, the Parker Bridge is noted for a steep slope, the Tidioute Bridge is noted for a scenic setting, and the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge is noted for a pony truss approach. Modern standard plan bridges do not display such variety. Also, by simply dismissing all standard plan bridges as non-historic, they ignore one thing that makes the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge stand out by comparison against Tidioute and Parker bridge, in that the Rochester-Bridgewater Bridge has had no modern guardrails added to the roadway. In other words, this bridge has excellent historic integrity.
Information and Findings From Pennsylvania's Historic Bridge InventoryDiscussion of Bridge The 3 span, 648' long and 35' wide bridge is composed of a 350'-long, riveted Parker thru truss main span, a shorter Parker thru truss east approach span over the railroad, and a Parker pony truss west approach span. Portions of the stone substructure from an earlier bridge are incorporated into the concrete substructure. The bridge dates to 1933, and all truss spans are traditionally composed with rolled section web members. There are no innovative or distinctive details, and the design is typical of what the department was using for major crossings in the 1930s. Neither the bridge nor its setting is historically or technologically significant. The bridge was built to enhance vehicular operations, not the efficiency of the railroad. It is also not the first grade crossing elimination bridge at this site. Discussion of Surrounding Area The bridge carries a two-lane street over the Beaver River and four Conrail (formerly PA RR main line) tracks at the confluence with the Ohio River. There is modern commercial development at the east end of the bridge, and the west end has predominately 20th century buildings, although there are some 19th century structures. The area does not have historic district potential. The line is the Fort Wayne division of the of the PA RR that PHMC determined eligible 9/14/93, but no period of significance or definition of contributing and noncontributing resources was part of the determination. Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: No |
