16th Street Bridge (Washington, D.C.)
| 16th Street Bridge | |
|---|---|
Looking at the west side of the 16th Street Bridge from Piney Branch Parkway NW
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| Coordinates | 38°56′18″N 77°02′11″W / 38.9382°N 77.0364°WCoordinates: 38°56′18″N 77°02′11″W / 38.9382°N 77.0364°W |
| Carries | 16th Street NW |
| Crosses | Piney Branch and Piney Branch Parkway |
| Locale | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Other name(s) | Piney Branch Bridge |
| Owner | District of Columbia Department of Transportation |
| Maintained by | District of Columbia Department of Transportation |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 272 feet (83 m) |
| Width | 61 feet (19 m) |
| Longest span | 125 feet (38 m) |
| No. of spans | 1 |
| Load limit | 40 short tons (36 t) |
| History | |
| Architect | J.J. Morrow and W.J. Douglas |
| Constructed by | Pennsylvania Bridge Company (first span); Cranford Paving Company (second span) |
| Construction start | September 1905 (first span); June 1909 (second span) |
| Construction end | January 1908 (first span); April 1910 (second span) |
| Construction cost | $165,000 ($4,241,089 in 2016 dollars) |
| Opened | April 15, 1910 |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 30,000 vehicles per day |
The 16th Street Bridge, also known as the Piney Branch Bridge, is an automobile and pedestrian bridge that carries 16th Street NW over Piney Branch and Piney Branch Parkway in Washington, D.C. It was the first parabolic arch bridge in the United States. Construction on the first span began in 1905 as part of the northward extension of 16th Street, and was finished in 1907 but was never opened to traffic. The second span began construction in 1909 and was completed in 1910. The bridge was renovated in 1990, and again beginning in October 2014.
The bridge, which spans the Piney Branch addition to Rock Creek Park, sits at the corner of four Washington, D.C., neighborhoods: Sixteenth Street Heights, Crestwood, Columbia Heights, and Mount Pleasant.
The 16th Street Bridge is 272 feet (83 m) long. Its span is 125 feet (38 m) in length, and has a rise of 45 feet (14 m). The span is a parabolic arch, the first built in the United States and the longest in the world at the time, according to its designer, W.J. Douglas. The abutments and substructure of the bridge are of reinforced concrete; the arch itself is not reinforced with steel. The interior of the bridge is hollow. Square vertical interior columns 2 feet (0.61 m) in length on each side support the road deck. A latticework of horizontal square beams, each 1 square foot (0.093 m2) in size, intersect the columns and are set perpendicular to one another. This system of columns and beams compress the arch and keep it stable as well push outward against the walls. The bridge's abutments are hollow. The abutments are stabilized by soil pressing against them from the outside, and the system of beams and columns on the interior of the bridge.
The walls of the bridge and the abutments are 2 feet (0.61 m) thick. A bluish crushed diorite was added to the concrete used to pour the walls of the abutments and the spandrel walls, which were left unfinished, and reflect the texture of the wooden forms used to create them. However, the archivolt, balustrade, and pilasters, whose concrete includes yellow sand and crushed granite, have a much different texture. These elements were removed from their molds before the concrete was fully hardened, then roughened with stiff brushes, helping to expose the granite particles within and make them glitter in the sun.
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