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Twin Bridges (Philadelphia)

1960 establishments in PennsylvaniaBridges completed in 1960Bridges in PhiladelphiaBridges of the United States Numbered Highway SystemBridges over the Schuylkill River
Plate girder bridges in the United StatesRoad bridges in PennsylvaniaSteel bridges in the United StatesU.S. Route 1Use American English from June 2023Use mdy dates from June 2023
Twin Bridges, Philadelphia
Twin Bridges, Philadelphia

The Twin Bridges are a pair of steel-plate girder bridges that span the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They carry northbound and southbound traffic on US 1 (Roosevelt Expressway) just north of its intersection with Interstate 76. The northbound bridge has 11 spans and is 1,921 feet long, while the southbound bridge has 12 spans and is 1,990 feet long. The bridges were built in 1960 and partially rebuilt (redecked) in 1985 and again in 2010. Each bridge carries three lanes of traffic. The bridges span the Schuylkill River, Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, Kelly Drive, Ridge Avenue, ramps to and from Ridge Avenue, and railroad tracks, including the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad, Schuylkill River Viaduct. The bridges' design was awarded a Certificate of Award Class II (Honorable Mention) by the American Institute of Steel Construction, who designated it one of "America's Most Beautiful Bridges".

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Twin Bridges (Philadelphia) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Twin Bridges (Philadelphia)
Indian Queen Lane, Philadelphia

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Latitude Longitude
N 40.0067 ° E -75.1929 °
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Twin Bridges (Northbound)

Indian Queen Lane
19129 Philadelphia
Pennsylvania, United States
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Twin Bridges, Philadelphia
Twin Bridges, Philadelphia
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Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Schuylkill River Viaduct
Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Schuylkill River Viaduct

The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, Schuylkill River Viaduct, also called the Reading Railroad Bridge and the Falls Rail Bridge, is a stone arch bridge that carries rail traffic over the Schuylkill River at Falls of Schuylkill (East Falls) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Located in Fairmount Park, the bridge also spans Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive, and Kelly Drive. The name Philadelphia & Reading Railroad (P&R) was later shortened to Reading Company. The current bridge replaced an adjacent P&R bridge, built of wood. Prior to that, one of the earliest suspension bridges in the United States, the 1808 Chain Bridge at Falls of Schuylkill (collapsed 1816), was built at this location. That was replaced by an 1818 covered bridge, built on the chain bridge's abutments, which washed away in 1822.The P&R built the viaduct, 1853–56, to carry coal cars to the company's coal terminal on the Delaware River in the Port Richmond neighborhood of Philadelphia. The bridge's design is unusual. Because it crosses the river at an oblique angle, it was constructed as a ribbed skew arch bridge, with each span composed of a series of offset stone arches. While not as strong as skewed barrel vault spans, these spans were much easier to build, while still assuring that the bridge's abutments were parallel to the water flow. The bridge consists of six main spans, each 78 feet (24 m) in length, crossing the river and Kelly Drive; five small arches, each 9 feet (2.7 m) in length, for pedestrian traffic; and a 30-foot (9.1 m) arch over Martin Luther King, Jr., Drive. The bridge's spandrel walls were reinforced in 1935. The bridge continues to carry rail traffic to this day.