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Inclined Plane Bridge

Inclined Plane Bridge
Bridge in Johnstown City
Inclined Plane Bridge.jpg
Country United States
State Pennsylvania
County Cambria
City Johnstown
Road SR 3022 spur
Crosses Stonycreek River
Coordinates 40°19′33″N 78°55′33″W / 40.32583°N 78.92583°W / 40.32583; -78.92583Coordinates: 40°19′33″N 78°55′33″W / 40.32583°N 78.92583°W / 40.32583; -78.92583
Length 72.2 m (237 ft)
Width 5.7 m (19 ft)
Builder Sparks and Evans, Phoenix Bridge Company
Design Pennsylvania through truss bridge
Materials Wrought iron, steel
Opened June 1, 1891
 - Added to NRHP June 22, 1988
Governing body PennDOT
NBI # 113022001000000
NRHP # 88000805
HAER # PA-454
Load 5 short tons (4.5 t)
MPS Highway Bridges Owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation TR
Inclined Plane Bridge is located in Pennsylvania
Inclined Plane Bridge
Location of the Inclined Plane Bridge in Pennsylvania

The Inclined Plane Bridge is a 237-foot (72 m), Pennsylvania through truss bridge that spans Stonycreek River in Johnstown, Cambria County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It connects the city to the lower station of the Johnstown Inclined Plane. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and was documented by the Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) in 1997.

On May 31, 1889, the South Fork Dam on the Little Conemaugh River, upstream of Johnstown, collapsed. The resulting deluge devastated the city, killing over 2,000 people. As the city rebuilt, the Cambria Iron Company started work on a residential development atop Yoder Hill, overlooking the city. To provide easy transportation across the steep slope for the residents of the new community of Westmont, as well as to function as an escape route for future floods, the company opted to construct the Johnstown Inclined Plane, a funicular. A bridge had to be built to connect Johnstown to the lower station of the incline, on the opposite side of Stonycreek River as the city.

Work started on the bridge on June 11, 1890, with excavation of the bridge's abutments finished a week later. By March 20, 1891, only the approach to the bridge remained to be completed. The bridge, officially, was opened on June 1, 1891, at the same time as the incline. On March 17, 1936, nearly 4,000 people crowded on the approach, the bridge, and numerous boats to escape to higher ground via the incline as Stoneycreek and Conemaugh Rivers overflowed their banks. The floodwaters continued downstream and eventually reached Pittsburgh.


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