and connects the north and south sides of
Bethlehem , September 2013
Early history Prior to
Bethlehem's incorporation as a city in 1917, the north side and the south side were independent municipalities. During the latter part of the 1910s, three bridges crossed between Bethlehem and South Bethlehem: the Minsi Trail bridge, the New Street bridge, and the Main Street covered bridge. The Main Street bridge was narrow and was regularly damaged by floods and ice. It crossed several tracks of the
Lehigh Valley Railroad and the
Reading Railroad on the south side as it led to Wyandotte Street. The Pacific Hotel stood between the southern portal to the covered bridge; the adjacent image shows the active freight and passenger railroad tracks travelers crossed to reach the bridge. Union Station was the passenger station of the Lehigh Valley and
Reading Railroads with service to
Buffalo,
Harrisburg,
New York City at
Jersey City, New Jersey, and
Philadelphia. On the north side, the bridge crossed the
Lehigh Canal and the tracks of the
Central Railroad of New Jersey before continuing up Seminary Hill, named for the
Moravian Church's Female Seminary, to the Main Street business district.
Construction Community leaders found the covered bridge to be a barrier to commerce between "the Bethlehems". As a result of the consolidation of the two municipalities into a single city, sufficient resources became available to design and construct a new bridge connecting Fountain Hill and Seminary Hill. By 1921, a commission was in place to design and oversee the construction of the new Lehigh River span. Commission members were the city's first mayor,
Archibald Johnston (chairman), J.S. Krause (vice-chairman), G.H. Blakeley, O.L. Henninger (representing Lehigh County), A.A. Woodring (representing Northampton County), A. Geo. Shoffner (secretary), Dallett H. Wilson (counsel) and C.W. Hudson (engineer). Construction on the Hill to Hill Bridge began on August 1, 1921, after many previous plans. As constructed, the bridge had nine approaches, eleven abutments, forty-eight piers, and fifty-eight spans. It was considered an engineering marvel of its time. By September 1924, the bridge was complete and opened by mayor
James Yeakel and provided safe, grade-separated connections between the two halves of the city. A 52-page brochure was distributed as a part of the public dedication in September 1924.
Modernization The structure of the Hill to Hill Bridge was modified significantly during the years after
World War II. The first significant change to traffic on the bridge came during the construction of the expressway portion of
PA Route 378 north of the bridge, known locally as the Spur Route. Initially, the Second Avenue ramp on the north side was closed in 1967. In 1968, the expressway portion was opened. Three other ramps were removed as part of safety, structural, and redevelopment efforts. On the north side, the South Main Street ramp leading to
Lehigh Street and the industrial area along
Monocacy Creek was removed in 1965. The River Street ramp leading to Sand Island was removed in 1988. On the south side, the Second Street ramp was removed in 1989. The bridge saw extensive repairs in 1990, and was painted in spring of 2009. The painting process had caused two of the four traffic lanes to be closed, and had resulted in major traffic congestion. The painting project was finished in time for the opening of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, which was later renamed
Wind Creek Bethlehem after its acquisition by Wind Creek Hospitality. ==Bridge structure==