Bridges which carried Auto Trails, US Routes and Interstates

[Max Rockatansky]

Off forum I was on page which was discussing the Interstate Bridge at the Columbia River.  Said structure opened in 1917 when it was part of the Pacific Highway.  It became US 99 in 1926 and part of Interstate 5 in 1956.  It probably is the most prominent example of a bridge out west which carried an Auto Trail, US Route and Interstate designation. 

I'm sure out east spans which carried all three Highway designations are much more common.  I'm trying to think of something more obscure for California but I'm drawing a blank at the moment.

[NE2]

The Carquinez Bridge was part of the 1928 Lincoln Highway (and probably the Victory Highway), then US 40 and now I-80.

Out east, the Bulkeley Bridge (1908) was part of multiple minor trails, then US 5/US 6/US 44 and now I-84. It's probably the oldest bridge on an Interstate.

The 14th Street Bridge carried trails such as the South Atlantic Coastal Highway, then US 1 and now I-395 (ex-I-95). But the 1906 bridge was closed in 1962, and may have never carried I-95.

[pderocco]

Out east, the Bulkeley Bridge (1908) was part of multiple minor trails, then US 5/US 6/US 44 and now I-84. It's probably the oldest bridge on an Interstate.

That can't have been eight lanes in 1908, can it?

[MikeTheActuary]

Out east, the Bulkeley Bridge (1908) was part of multiple minor trails, then US 5/US 6/US 44 and now I-84. It's probably the oldest bridge on an Interstate.

That can't have been eight lanes in 1908, can it?

80 feet wide at opening, widened in 1964.

EDIT: Here's a picture providing a sense of how much wider the bridge became.  (Eastbound side is original.):
https://web.archive.org/web/20150907172452fw_/http://www.past-inc.org/historic-bridges/image-bulkeley2.html

[Dirt Roads]

Close, but worth mentioning because of the historical significance to this topic:  The Ben Franklin Bridge between Philly and Camden was constructed in advance of our nation's Sesquicentennial Expedition with the intention to be included in those celebrations 100 years ago.  It opened a few days early on July 1, 1926 but served as the highlight of Philadelphia's grand celebration.  Upon opening, it was unposted but had already been assigned to carry US-30 which was completely posted by November that same year.

Party pooper:  The original Lincoln Highway ran along US-30 until it split off Market Street onto Broad Street in the loop surrounding City Hall and followed US-1 up to New York City.  That means that the ole' Ben Franklin was about a mile away and never carried an original Auto Trail.

[Dirt Roads]

Another one that ought to be on the list (but never qualified):  The I-90 Shoreline on the east side of Cleveland crosses a huge culvert over what had been one of the famous "bluestone brooks" that fed directly into Lake Erie.  Hidden beneath all of that pavement, the eastbound lanes actually crosses the Dugway Brook culvert on a tiny bridge that was constructed in 1925 and is rated as one of the worst bridge structures in the United States.  This is still part of Ohio Route 2, which was known as St. Clair Avenue when the bridge was constructed. 

But for whatever reason, it appears that US-20 was originally placed a few blocks further south on Superior Avenue.  The original route of US-20 was not part of the Auto Trail system.  But US-6 was the Grand Army of the Republic Highway upon inception.  It wasn't extended westward from Kane, Pennsylvania -to- Greeley, Colorado until 1931 and also got it's Auto Trail moniker extended at the same time.  But alas, it appears that US-6 was multiplexed with US-20 along Superior Avenue. 

So in a bizarre twist of fate, what appears to have been the best original route between Cleveland -and- Painesville never got posted with either of two the parallel U.S. routes.

[Dirt Roads]

But that story sets up this one:

After years of fighting the city of Moline, William Bettendorf finally got permission to construct a toll bridge across the Mississippi River between that city and the one of his namesake.  Originally named the Davenport Bridge, it was completed in November 1935 and commissioned as the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge. US-6 and its Grand Army of the Republic Highway were rerouted onto this new bridge.  The Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge was twinned (constructed to be nearly identical) and completed in late 1959, late enough that it wasn't officially dedicated until the weather broke in late January 1960.  The original span carried [northbound] traffic from Illinois into Iowa.  In order to utilize these bridges for the Interstate system, the bridge was purchased (probably by the Iowa State Highway Commission) and the tolls removed in order to facilitate the routing of I-74.  Not incoincidentally, the connections to the twin structures were completed in November 1974 such that I-74 could be posted.

So even though it doesn't meet in the intentions of the O.P., both spans of the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge carried an Auto Trail, a U.S. Route, and an Interstate (and all at the same time).

[GaryV]

If you count both ferries and the bridge that replaced them, then Mackinac.
Dixie Highway >> US-31 >> US-27 >> I-75

[NE2]

Another one that ought to be on the list (but never qualified):  The I-90 Shoreline on the east side of Cleveland crosses a huge culvert over what had been one of the famous "bluestone brooks" that fed directly into Lake Erie.  Hidden beneath all of that pavement, the eastbound lanes actually crosses the Dugway Brook culvert on a tiny bridge that was constructed in 1925 and is rated as one of the worst bridge structures in the United States.  This is still part of Ohio Route 2, which was known as St. Clair Avenue when the bridge was constructed. 

I'm not sure I understand where this is. It looks like Dugway Brook empties into the lake just west of Eddy Road. A 1940 county map shows SR 2 on Lakeshore Boulevard in the area, which is just north of I-90. 1920s state maps all show SR 2 with US 20 on Superior-Euclid. St. Clair Avenue is about halfway between and doesn't seem to have carried any routes.

[Dirt Roads]

Another one that ought to be on the list (but never qualified):  The I-90 Shoreline on the east side of Cleveland crosses a huge culvert over what had been one of the famous "bluestone brooks" that fed directly into Lake Erie.  Hidden beneath all of that pavement, the eastbound lanes actually crosses the Dugway Brook culvert on a tiny bridge that was constructed in 1925 and is rated as one of the worst bridge structures in the United States.  This is still part of Ohio Route 2, which was known as St. Clair Avenue when the bridge was constructed. 

I'm not sure I understand where this is. It looks like Dugway Brook empties into the lake just west of Eddy Road. A 1940 county map shows SR 2 on Lakeshore Boulevard in the area, which is just north of I-90. 1920s state maps all show SR 2 with US 20 on Superior-Euclid. St. Clair Avenue is about halfway between and doesn't seem to have carried any routes.

I was going to post this last night but couldn't find the location myself, even though I was pretty sure that I knew where it was (once upon a time, we were awarded a big RTA contract but we never got any work out of it).  Anywhoosit, I found it today on this website.  Turns out that they maintain an Oldest Bridges in America listing that is quite relevant to folks watching this thread. Note that many old bridges are not on the FHWA inventory list, such as the Ben Franklin (which carries I-676).  (I suspect that agencies such as the Delaware River Port Authority and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey are considered self-regulating and not subject to some of the FHWA regulations).

[NE2]

Still not seeing how that "bridge" can date from 1925. Unless that's the date for the entire undergrounding of the creek, which is really stretching things.

[Dirt Roads]

Still not seeing how that "bridge" can date from 1925. Unless that's the date for the entire undergrounding of the creek, which is really stretching things.

Like many railroad bridge structures, some highway bridge structures actually carry an earthen roadbed on top of the deck of the structure.  In this case, it appears to be feathered in seamless to the earthen fill atop of the culverts on both side of it.  There is an FHWA regulation that the bridge be inspected frequently; ergo, the design of the culverts on both sides must provide sufficient access to inspect the structure from beneath. 

It is my suspicion that the bridge has a continuous culvert beneath it.  In many urban areas, there are continuous drainage pipes (in West Virginia we also call them culverts) that carry fresh streamwater (or stormwater, or perhaps both) from the upstream inlet to the downstream outlet.  That keeps raging waters from washing out any earthen fill beneath the culvert.  If my suspicion is correct, then the design of some of the adjacent "culverts" also needs to span over any continuous culvert carrying Dugway Brook freshwater such that the inspectors can access the interior of the bridge.  Anywhoosit, this it one technique that allows the entire area to covered with earthen fill, roadbeds and pavement so that it all is seamless and shouldn't get washed out from beneath.  There might be other possible designs, so feel free to chime in with any educated information.

[Bitmapped]

Another one that ought to be on the list (but never qualified):  The I-90 Shoreline on the east side of Cleveland crosses a huge culvert over what had been one of the famous "bluestone brooks" that fed directly into Lake Erie.  Hidden beneath all of that pavement, the eastbound lanes actually crosses the Dugway Brook culvert on a tiny bridge that was constructed in 1925 and is rated as one of the worst bridge structures in the United States.  This is still part of Ohio Route 2, which was known as St. Clair Avenue when the bridge was constructed. 

I'm not sure I understand where this is. It looks like Dugway Brook empties into the lake just west of Eddy Road. A 1940 county map shows SR 2 on Lakeshore Boulevard in the area, which is just north of I-90. 1920s state maps all show SR 2 with US 20 on Superior-Euclid. St. Clair Avenue is about halfway between and doesn't seem to have carried any routes.

I was going to post this last night but couldn't find the location myself, even though I was pretty sure that I knew where it was (once upon a time, we were awarded a big RTA contract but we never got any work out of it).  Anywhoosit, I found it today on this website.  Turns out that they maintain an Oldest Bridges in America listing that is quite relevant to folks watching this thread. Note that many old bridges are not on the FHWA inventory list, such as the Ben Franklin (which carries I-676).  (I suspect that agencies such as the Delaware River Port Authority and the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey are considered self-regulating and not subject to some of the FHWA regulations).

That's an awfully incomplete website. They actually have one bridge listed in the county I live in (Monongalia County, West Virginia) but there are older WVDOH-maintained bridges here in the county that are not listed. It's not that structures like the Ben Franklin Bridge aren't in the National Bridge Inventory, it's that this website didn't get the complete National Bridge Inventory.

[Dirt Roads]

That's an awfully incomplete website. They actually have one bridge listed in the county I live in (Monongalia County, West Virginia) but there are older WVDOH-maintained bridges here in the county that are not listed. It's not that structures like the Ben Franklin Bridge aren't in the National Bridge Inventory, it's that this website didn't get the complete National Bridge Inventory.

Interesting point.  I should also note that the upper deck of the George Washington Bridge (owned by PANY/NJ) is on the list (right below your Scotts Run bridge), eliminating my theory.

Apparently the website takes its own listing of "Worst Condition Bridges" and sorts the data on the Year_Built field.  Not all of the old bridges are rated poorly in either the "structurally deficient" or "fracture critical" components of the NBI.  Also, I found out that this is a new website that is asking for assistance with corrections. 

My first suspicion was probably wrong.  I was under the impression that the website only included "major highways", a term that should include high levels of traffic volume (indeed, the Scotts Run bridge in Star City is shown with a high AADT).  But from what I can tell, even that doesn't explain some things.  I can imagine that an AI tool has to be properly trained to sort a huge spreadsheet.  I can do that with one click (although I still prefer to use the old Lotus 1-2-3 in DOS).

FWIW, this website was useful when helping to find the location of the Dugway Brook bridge.

[Dirt Roads]

^^^
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the George Washington Bridge yet.  But I suspect that the Atlantic Highway moniker was not posted on the bridge when the upper deck of the GWB was completed in 1930 and officially opened in 1931.

[Mapmikey]

The George Washington Bridge at NYC is on there, so that rules out bridges under Authorities being the reason they are left off.

It appears the FHWA list intentionally leaves out bridges with segments under 20 ft long. But there should still be hundreds of bridges on there older than 1935.

[Big John]

^^ structures under 20' long are exempt from required inspections.

[Rothman]

^^ structures under 20' long are exempt from required inspections.

So much for those e-mails of inspection flags I get every so often on culverts...