The Portland–Columbia Pedestrian Bridge crosses the Delaware River, at Portland, in Upper Mount Bethel Township, Pennsylvania, connecting to Columbia, in Knowlton Township, New Jersey, United States. A vehicular bridge had been located at the site of the present bridge since 1869. The original structure was a four-span timber bridge with wooden arches which was covered by a wooden shed with a slate roof. As of December 1, 1953, the bridge on the site was closed to vehicular traffic, which was shifted to the new Portland-Columbia toll Bridge, built one-quarter mile downstream of the old bridge. In August 1955, during the remnants of Hurricane Diane, three of the four spans of the timber bridge washed away. Hurricane Diane was the wettest hurricane to ever hit the North American continent and caused record flooding throughout the northeastern US, but particularly the Delaware River watershed. According to the Bicentennial Celebration publication, Historical Sites of Knowlton Township, (1976) , the covered bridge was built by the Charles, Kellogg and Maurice Company, and was finished in 1869. It was a Burr truss bridge, and was 775 feet long and 18 feet wide. The plaque on the Portland side of the bridge reads, Site of the last of 16 covered bridges that once spanned the Delaware. Erected 1831-1869. Destroyed by flood August 19, 1955. Its 775-foot span had survived the Flood of 1903, but would be almost entirely swept away by the Delaware in August 1955. Its piers, which date from 1839, now support a new walking bridge built in 1958, the site of outdoor art shows.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:47:36 +0000