The State Street Bridge carries State Street over the Schuylkill River in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
The State Street Bridge carries State Street over the Schuylkill River in Hamburg, Pennsylvania.
The first bridge at this location was a wooden covered structure built in 1851. 2 Initially, the borough tolled it for trade and agriculture. By 1926, it was no longer a tolled crossing but had become outdated and too small for modern vehicles. The state highway department planned to include it as part of a main route between Harrisburg and Allentown. Local concerns about the bridge’s safety were raised, but county commissioners indicated that due to the construction of a new bridge at Birdsboro, no funds were available. They also suggested that the Schuylkill Navigation Company might contribute to the cost, as the canal lay near the eastern approach to the bridge.
Petitions were circulated, and discussions among officials and politicians began. 2 Hamburg’s ‘Dinner Club,’ a group of businessmen, supported the bridge issue and secured a tentative promise from the commissioners for a new bridge in 1927.
In December 1926, the county commissioners presented a proposal for the bridge to the grand jury, which was approved. 2 Bids for the new bridge were advertised in July 1927, and the Harrisburg firm of Whittaker & Diehl won the contract.
On August 21, a crew began removing weatherboards from the old wooden bridge to be used for building tool and storage sheds at the site. 2 Several steam engines and other large equipment were brought in. On May 3, 1928, the new bridge opened for two-way traffic, and the removal of the old bridge began.
The Harrisburg-Allentown Highway, originally signed as PA Route 43, became US Route 22 (William Penn Highway) in 1931.
The State Street Bridge was functionally bypassed with the four-lane William Penn Highway Hamburg Bridge in 1957. The crossing was rehabilitated in 1975 and again in 2009-10 when reinforced supports, new lighting, and sidewalks were installed at the cost of $6 million. 1 The bridge was officially named the “Senator Jim Rhoades Memorial Bridge” in honor of the late state senator who had helped secure funding for the work.
Details
- State: Pennsylvania
- Route: State Street
- Status: Active (Automobile)
- Type: Open Spandrel Arch
- Total Length: 529'
- Main Span Length: 86'
- Spans: 0
- Deck Width: 24'
- Roadway Width: 0
- Height of Structure: 0
- Above Vertical Clearance: 0
- Navigational Clearance: 0
Sources
- Fullerton, Melissa. “State Street Bridge In Berks Co. Reopens.” WFMZ, 10 Oct. 2019.
- Reichl, Matthew. “State Street Bridge wasn’t built in a day.” Reading Eagle, 22 Aug. 2021.