“It is the sweet, simple things in
life which are the real ones after all.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
~ 1867-1957
A couple begins a stroll across The
Riegelsville Toll-Supported Bridge (Riegelsville Roebling Bridge) on a
beautiful August day in Riegelsville, Pennsylvania, a sweet and simple way for
people in love to spend a summer afternoon.
Spanning the Delaware River, the
bridge connects the Borough of Riegelsville in Pennsylvania with Pohatcong
Township in New Jersey.
The original bridge, a covered
wooden structure, was constructed in 1835. It remained in service until the
entire superstructure was swept away by the flood of October 10, 1903.
The existing bridge, constructed in
1904 by John A. Roebling’s Sons Company of New York, is a three-span suspension
structure with a total length of 577 feet. The open-grid steel deck provides a
roadway width of 16 feet between steel rubrails. A timber-plank sidewalk is
supported by a king post floor beam system, cantilevered on both ends of the
bridge. The sidewalk railing is actually a double-warren truss, assisting in
strengthening the bridge roadway.
The substructure, masonry piers
originally built in 1835, were raised and built up in 1904. The pier nearest
the Pennsylvania approach was almost completely demolished in the flood of 1936
and was subsequently rebuilt using reinforced concrete.
The
bridge was rehabilitated in 2010 and dedicated in 2011. It is owned by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge
Commission, and is currently posted for a three-ton weight limit and a 15 MPH
speed limit.
Riegelsville is a Route 611 river
town along the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail). The trail is
positioned between the Delaware River and Delaware Canal, which was designated
a National Historic Landmark in 1978. The site possesses national significance
in commemorating the history of the United States of America.
Running
from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and
Delaware rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.
