Pennsylvania Route 709

Riverton–Belvidere Bridge
The Riverton-Belvidere Bridge over the Delaware mid-span.
Coordinates	40°49′44″N 75°05′05″W / 40.8288°N 75.0847°W / 40.8288; -75.0847Coordinates: 40°49′44″N 75°05′05″W / 40.8288°N 75.0847°W / 40.8288; -75.0847
Crosses	Delaware River
Locale	Belvidere, New Jersey and Riverton, Pennsylvania
Official name	Riverton–Belvidere Toll Supported Bridge
Maintained by	Belvidere Delaware Bridge Company (1832-1929) Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (1929-present)
Characteristics
Design	Truss bridge
Total length	653 feet (199 m)
Load limit	8 short tons (7.3 t)
History
Opened	1904
Statistics
Toll	None

The Riverton–Belvidere Bridge is a bridge crossing the Delaware River. It connects Belvidere, New Jersey with Riverton, Pennsylvania, United States. There is no toll for crossing on either side, after tolls were abolished by the Joint Commission for the Elimination of Toll Bridges in 1929. The bridge is 653 feet (199 m) long, holding a load of 8 short tons (16,000 lb) of traffic from County Route 620 Spur (Water Street) in Belvidere to former Pennsylvania Route 709 on the Riverton side. The bridge was first constructed in 1836, replacing the local ferry across the river. The board of freeholders in Warren County supported the replacement of the ferry with a bridge for safety of passengers. In 1832, the state created the Belvidere Delaware Bridge Company, which was funded with the job of building a bridge from Riverton to Belvidere. The new covered bridge was built by Solon Chapin, a contractor from Easton, Pennsylvania. The bridge survived two large storms in 1836 and 1841, although sustained major damage both times. In 1903, the floods that destroyed bridges along the Delaware River Valley, including taking out the entire covered structure at Riverton and Belvidere. They rebuilt the structure in 1904, using steel instead of wood, and the new span has remained since, with rehabilitations at certain points.

Original reports indicate that a ferry, operated by a doctor who went by "Dr. Belvidere", once ran along the alignment of the Riverton–Belvidere Bridge. This ferry, crossing one of the most dangerous parts of the Delaware, was reported to have opened as early as 1802. On May 17, 1825, the Board of Chosen Freeholders of the ferry permitted raising the rate to cross the river via ferry. However, by 1832, the ferry crossing was becoming dangerously busy, and required a bridge be constructed in its place. That year, the Belvidere Delaware Bridge Company was established by both the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. However, in constructing the bridge, the company was only allowed $20,000 (1832 USD) to construct the bridge. The bridge company had the designs for the bridge run by Solon Chapin, a contractor from Easton, Pennsylvania. Chapin was also the construction contractor on the nearby Riegelsville Bridge as well.