The National Road - Pennsylvania - Claysville 'S' Bridge

Just about halfway between Washington and Claysville, where US 40 meets PA Route 221, sits one of the better examples of National Road infrastructure within Pennsylvania. The Claysville 'S' Bridge sits just west of the intersection with PA 221 and is a great piece of the National Road's past.

Looking eastwards at the Claysville 'S' Bridge. (Adam Prince, July 2009)

The stone arch bridge was built between 1815 and 1818 and carried travelers between Washington and Claysville for over a century. The bridge over an unnamed branch of Buffalo Creek is the only stone-arch 'S' bridge along the National Road in Pennsylvania.

Now looking westwards - grass has taken over the old roadway. (Adam Prince; July 2009)

As the automobile era began to develop, the Claysville 'S' Bridge would become obsolete. The National Road and US 40 would be straightened just to the bridges south with a new and much smaller concrete bridge crossing the creek.

The Claysville 'S' Bridge not long after a new straighter alignment of US 40 took its place. The photo above still has pavement along the bridge and the original alignment of US 40. The photo below shows how the bridge was cut to make way for the new alignment of US 40. (A.S. Burns/Library of Congress - 1933)

(A.S. Burns/Library of Congress - 1933)

That then 'new' US 40 bridge would be replaced in 2009. Though abandoned from automobile use - the 'S' bridge was preserved as a roadside park which it remains to this day. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and remains a popular stop for locals and tourists following the highway.

By the mid-century, the 'S' bridge had become a roadside park complete with picnic tables. The old road bed is now entirely grass. (Image courtesy cardcow.com)

Detail of the stone arches. (Adam Prince, July 2009)

Site Navigation:

Sources & Links:

Claysville S Bridge ---Bridgehunter.com
This post is brought to you by the letter 'S' ---Jim Grey
Mile 106 - S Bridge ---Explore US 40
Claysville S Bridge @ Route40.Net ---Frank Brusca
Cardcow.com
US 40 @ PAHighways.com ---Jeff Kitsko

Comments

Morgan Territory Road

Morgan Territory Road is an approximately 14.7-mile-long roadway mostly located in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California. The roadway is named after settler Jerimah Morgan who established a ranch in the Diablo Range in 1857. Morgan Territory Road was one of several facilities constructed during the Gold Rush era to serve the ranch holdings. The East Bay Regional Park District would acquire 930 acres of Morgan Territory in 1975 in an effort to establish a preserve east of Mount Diablo. The preserve has since been expanded to 5,324 acres. The preserve functionally stunts the development along roadway allowing it to remain surprisingly primitive in a major urban area. Part 1; the history of Morgan Territory Road During the period of early period of American Statehood much of the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County was sparsely developed. Jerimah Morgan acquired 2,000 acres of land east of Mount Diablo in 1856 and established a ranch in 1857. Morgan Territory Road is

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge (Madera County)

The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge is an early era arch concrete structure found alongside modern Madera County Road 200. The structure was modeled as a smaller scale of the 1905 Pollasky Bridge (still in ruins at the San Joaquin River) and was one of many early twentieth century improvements to what was then known as the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road. The 1915-era bridge was replaced with a modernized concrete span during 1947 but was never demolished. The original concrete structure can be still found sitting in the brush north of the 2023 Fine Gold Creek Bridge. Part 1; the history of the 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge The 1915 Fine Gold Creek Bridge lies near the site of the former mining community of Fine Gold. Mining claims were staked at Fine Gold during the Mariposa War during 1850. The community was never very large but became a stopping point on the stage road between the original Fresno County seat at Millerton and Fresno Flats (now Oakhurst). The stage road eventually bypas

San Francisco's Broadway Tunnel

The Broadway Tunnel in San Francisco is a structure at Russian Hill which connects the neighborhood Chinatown to North Beach. The tunnel was included in the 1948 San Francisco Trafficways Plan as a connector between the Central Freeway and Embarcadero Freeway. The structure was completed in December 1952 and spans 1,616 feet through Russian Hill. The Broadway Tunnel was designated as the Robert C. Levy Tunnel in 1986. Part 1; the history of the Broadway Tunnel Following the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 San Francisco would see a major population boom. The city would expand from the shores of San Francisco Bay inland towards the many steep hills. The hills of San Francisco would prove to be a major hinderance towards the expansion of city. Roads were generally plotted over the tops of hillsides and had steep grades. Russian Hill in particular was one of the steepest and contained numerous streets with grades in excess of twenty percent. Broadway can be seen cros

Gribblenation

Search This Blog