Inclined Plane Bridge
| Inclined Plane Bridge | |
| Bridge in Johnstown City | |
 |
|
| 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°WCoordinates: 40°19′33″N 78°55′33″W / 40.32583°N 78.92583°W |
| 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 |
 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.
...
Wikipedia