Wright's Ferry Bridge

The Wright's Ferry Bridge carries U.S. Route 30 (US 30) over the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. The "Wright's Ferry" in its name commemorates the first ferry across the Susquehanna River.

This bridge is considered the sixth Columbia–Wrightsville Bridge; it complements the fifth one, which still carries Lincoln Highway traffic.

History and notable features

Also known informally and locally as the Route 30 bridge, it was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the 1960s to relocate US 30 and bypass the river towns of Wrightsville and Columbia. Construction began in March 1969; G.A. & F.C. Wagman, Inc. was the general contractor used for the project.

The bridge was completed in 1972 at a cost of $12 million and opened November 21, 1972 under its present commemorative historical name, with Wright's Ferry being both the historic ferry's and one of Columbia's former names.

It was built using reinforced concrete and steel and has forty-six equal sections that are supported by forty-five piers. US 30 crosses it as a divided four-lane roadway.

Approximately a year after its opening, the bridge was shut down briefly so that an experimental weather-resistant coating could be applied to its roadway. Tolls were never collected on this bridge, the sixth to have crossed the river in this general location.

See also

• List of crossings of the Susquehanna River

References

• Columbia, the Gem, Bill Kloidt, Sr. 1994, Mifflin Press, Inc.
• Fire on the River, The Defense of the World's Longest Covered Bridge and How It Changed the Battle of Gettysburg, George Sheldon, 2006, Quaker Hills Press, Inc. Template:ISBN, 978-0-9779315-0-7.

External links

• http://www.rivertownes.org/Features/Crossings/Crossings.htm
• http://www.rivertownes.org/townes.htm