Albertus L. Meyers Bridge
Coordinates: 40 ° 35 ′ 47 " N , 75 ° 28 ′ 16" W.
| Albertus L. Meyers Bridge | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| use | Road bridge | |
| Convicted | South 8th Street | |
| Crossing of | Little Lehigh Creek | |
| place | Allentown , Pennsylvania | |
| construction | Reinforced concrete - arch bridge | |
| overall length | 597 m | |
| width | 13.72 m | |
| Number of openings | 9 + 6 | |
| Longest span | 36.8 m | |
| start of building | 1912 | |
| opening | 1913 | |
| location | ||
|
||
 |
||
The Albertus L. Meyers Bridge , better known by its former name Eighth Street Bridge , spans the deeply cut Little Lehigh Creek and connects the city center of Allentown , Pennsylvania , with its southern districts.
When it opened in 1913, it was probably the longest and highest road bridge in the world made of reinforced concrete .
description
The Albertus L. Meyers Bridge leads South Eighth Street with three lanes and a sidewalk on both sides over the 42 m deep valley and the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, which runs along the valley floor . On the initially gently sloping southern slope, it also crosses Harrison Street, which runs directly below it .
The Albertus L. Meyers Bridge is 597 m (1959 ft ) long and 13.72 m wide and consists of 9 arches with spans of 36.58 m (120 ft) as well as 6 flat flap bridges in the Harrison Street area with a shell are blinded, suggesting a flat arch. 2 slab bridges in the area of the northern end of the bridge are covered by the vegetation of the last hundred years and the adjacent buildings.
The arches each consist of two parallel arched ribs, which are supported on each side on two separate pillars that extend to the deck. The arch ribs and the pillars are connected just below the deck slab by panes in the form of a round arch, which stiffen them and support the deck.
history
A property company was founded as early as 1900 and began buying land for the bridge. Initially, a steel truss bridge was planned , the superstructure of which was to be built by a German company. However, the construction work suddenly stopped. It was not until years later that the local tram company, which had now been established, was given the right to lay a stretch along Eighth Street over a bridge that was to be built. This time it should be a concrete bridge. Construction work began in July 1912 and ended with the opening ceremony on November 17, 1913. The bridge was subject to tolls until 1957.
In 1974 it was named after the then 83-year-old band leader Albertus L. Meyers, who had spent his musical life in Allentown and had already played Cornet at the opening ceremony in the brass band .
In 1988 the bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP #: 88000870).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Unless otherwise stated, the information in this article is based on South Eighth Street Viaduct , HAER No. PA-459
- ^ Albertus L. Meyers Bridge on Bridgehunter . The 597 m (1959 ft) coincide with a measurement in Google Earth. It is not clear what the already mentioned in HAER No. PA-459 is based on a length of 2600 ft, which in a postcard on the occasion of the opening even becomes 2650 ft, on which the English Wikipedia bases the claim that the Albertus L. Meyers Bridge is longer than the Tunkhannock Viaduct, which was built at the same time
- ^ Meyers, Albertus L., Bridge. NPGallery Digital Asset Management System, National Park Service.