East Bloomsburg Bridge

The East Bloomsburg Bridge was long. Prior to its demolition and reconstruction, the bridge was made up of six pin-connected through truss spans. Each of these spans is long. Each of the spans consisted of ten panels that were each long. The panels were made of wrought iron and steel. The pins on the bridge were made of steel. The floor of the bridge was made of oak. The original design of the bridge was such that it could support a static load of per linear foot and a rolling load of per linear foot. The bridge's original weight limit was , but this was later decreased to . Shortly before its demolition, the bridge had two lanes, each wide. It had a clearance of at the beginning of the bridge and at the center. The East Bloomsburg Bridge crosses the Susquehanna River between Bloomsburg and Catawissa Township. The bridge is located in the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Catawissa Quadrangle. The East Bloomsburg Bridge was constructed with Pennsylvania-style trusses, also known as Petit trusses. These were based on a Pratt truss, but had several modifications. These included converting the top chord to a polygonal shape and dividing and deepening the panels. ==History and construction==

On August 23, 1892, a group of citizens created a petition requesting that a free county bridge be built across the Susquehanna River in the vicinity of Bloomsburg. The citizens delivered this petition to a nearby court. However, on September 21, 1892, a group of citizens from Catawissa created a petition requesting that the money that was to be used for the East Bloomsburg Bridge would instead be used to build a replacement for the existing bridge in Catawissa, which was in poor condition at the time. Due to the opposing petition, the court in Bloomsburg ceased plans to build the bridge at Bloomsburg. However, despite more arguments from the opponents of the planned bridge in Bloomsburg, the court reversed its decision on November 9, 1893, stating that "the said bridge is necessary as a county bridge". The East Bloomsburg Bridge was severely damaged during a flood in 1904, with parts of the bridge being swept away entirely. The East Bloomsburg Bridge was heavily used from its construction until 1914. In 1914, it was redecked. The floor of the bridge was converted to laminated wood that was thick and covered in a bituminous layer. In 1924, white oak planks were laid diagonally on the bridge. By 1954, the bridge was in a significant state of deterioration, so it was redecked again, this time with steel. Guard rails were also added in this year. By 1984, the bridge was experiencing problems with rusting and its weight limit had been reduced to less than . Factors contributing to its demolition included its age and the lightweight design of its trusses. This new bridge was designated as the "Fort McClure Veterans Memorial Bridge" on December 5, 1988. In 2005, USGS installed a gauging station near the site of the bridge. The things that were installed there included a microwave sensor for measuring stream flow and velocity. ==Uses and legacy==

After the construction of the East Bloomsburg Bridge, it was easier to directly access the Coal Region, Pottsville and the Centre Turnpike Road from Bloomsburg. Around this time, it also aided in the town of Bloomsburg's ability to transition from having iron mining as its main industry to having textile mills as its main industry. The bridge accomplished this by providing easier access to goods. In 1987, the East Bloomsburg Bridge was used by 6000 cars every day on average. The bridge provides access to U.S. Route 11. As of 1987, the East Bloomsburg Bridge may be been the last bridge in Pennsylvania to have Pennsylvania"style trusses. ==See also==