Caldwell Bridge

"Hoon Road Bridge"

Above: Sign as seen during my July 2, 2006 visit. Above: Thanks to Terry Kerr for supplying this night-time photo.

This historic bridge was demolished in July of 2006.

Learn about the type of bridge that replaced this historic bridge.

Most Recent Visit To Bridge: July 2, 2006

The only thing that Pennsylvania and Preservation have in common is the same first letter.

Lucky Visit

Bad luck usually follows me around, especially on bridge trips. Either the weather turns rainy or otherwise horrible whenever I leave, or the bridge I am looking for was demolished two weeks before I get to it. It is alarming how many times I have missed a historic bridge by a few weeks of demolition. However with the Caldwell Bridge, on Hoon Road, the luck turned around the opposite of the normal for me. Indeed, I visited and photographed this bridge a mere two weeks before this bridge is turned into scrap metal and is replaced by a mundane modern bridge. A rather unimpressive painted sign posted near the bridge said the bridge would be closed for replacement on July 10th. I was visiting the bridge July 2nd! I am happy to be given the opportunity to record this bridge for future generations. I am unhappy that those future generations will not be able to enjoy the quaint and beautiful appearance of this metal truss bridge however.

My Technical Observations

This bridge was a four panel half-hip pony truss. It featured riveted connections, and is an early example of riveted connection technology for its 1902 construction date. It featured v-lacing on the vertical members. The bridge was posted at a 10 ton weight limit before being demolished.

My Usual Pennsylvania Demolition Banter

Pennsylvania's historic bridge inventory was, in my opinion too conservative in picking which bridges are historic and which ones were not. Far too many metal truss bridges were considered non-historic by the survey. With that in mind, that means that any bridge the survey considers historic must be extremely significant. Indeed, the Caldwell Bridge is one of those bridges actually listed as historic by the survey! As such, if any bridge should have been preserved, it should have been this bridge. In addition, the 2002 traffic count for Hoon Road was only 100 cars a day, which is a very low count. It does not justify a large modern bridge. Do to its small size, low traffic volumes, and historic nature it would have been inexpensive and logical to restore this bridge. However, large or small, Pennsylvania is bent on demolishing its historic metal truss bridges. This is unfortunate, since their bridges are unparalleled in variety and design. If they would instead embrace a massive preservation program, they could turn their state into a major tourist destination for engineers, photographers, and people simply looking for a scenic landscape. These metal truss bridges compliment the scenic Pennsylvania landscape perfectly.