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Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge
A southbound Acela Express crosses the bridge in 2008. The piers of the predecessor bridge are visible on the right.
Coordinates	39°33′17″N 76°05′06″W / 39.5548°N 76.0851°W / 39.5548; -76.0851
Carries	Amtrak Northeast Corridor rail line
Crosses	Susquehanna River
Locale	Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland, United States
Official name	Susquehanna River Movable Bridge
Maintained by	Amtrak
Characteristics
Design	Howe deck truss
Material	Steel
Total length	4,153.8 feet (1,266.1 m)
No. of spans	17 fixed spans, 1 swing span
Clearance below	52 feet (15.8 m) closed 127 feet (38.7 m) open
Rail characteristics
No. of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
History
Constructed by	Pennsylvania Steel Company and American Bridge Company
Opened	November 26, 1866
Rebuilt	1904–May 29, 1906 2025–2036
Statistics
Daily traffic	Up to 114 daily passenger and freight trains
Location

The Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge is a deck truss bridge that carries two tracks of the Amtrak Northeast Corridor line across the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland. It was built in 1906 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, replacing a previous bridge built in 1866 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad. Construction of a pair of two-track replacement bridges is expected to last from 2025 to 2036.

Design and operations

The bridge crosses the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville, Maryland, 1.0 mile (1.6 km) above its mouth. It is 4,153.8 feet (1,266.1 m) long with 18 steel truss spans on masonry supports. From north to south, there is one span of 197 feet 2 inches (60.10 m), eight of 260 feet (79 m), a swing span of 280 feet (85 m), seven spans of 200 feet (61 m), and one of 196 feet 6 inches (59.89 m). The northernmost two and southernmost two spans are primarily over land; the end spans cross over Broad Street in Perryville and North Union Avenue in Havre de Grace.

The bridge carries two tracks of the Northeast Corridor rail line. It is used by up to 90 Amtrak intercity trains and 14 MARC Penn Line commuter trains per day. Maximum speed over the bridge is 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), slower than the 135 miles per hour (217 km/h) allowed on adjacent sections of the Northeast Corridor. The bridge is also used by up to 10 daily freight trains, which are operated by Norfolk Southern Railway under a trackage rights agreement. Freight trains are limited to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) over the bridge and are generally operated during nighttime hours to avoid interfering with passenger operations.

Vertical clearance under the swing span is 52 feet (15.8 m) above mean high water when closed and 127 feet (38.7 m) when open. It has two channels, each 100 feet (30 m) wide. The only significant commercial water traffic under the bridge consists of barges from a Vulcan Materials Company quarry just upstream of Havre de Grace. The bridge's swing span is opened about 10 times a year; vessels that require such an opening must provide 24-hour advance notice. Due to the older design of the swing span, each opening requires more than 30 Amtrak workers on site.

History

First bridge

The vicinity of the bridge has been used as a river crossing for more than 300 years. In 1695, the colonial General Assembly granted the first licenses to operate a ferry between Perryville and what is now Havre de Grace. In 1837, railroad lines south from Wilmington, Delaware, and north from Baltimore arrived at the riverbanks. For 29 years, including the duration of the American Civil War, a train ferry carried passengers (on foot) and freight cars between the two towns. In 1854, a larger ferryboat began to transport entire passenger cars across the river.

Construction of the bridge, which was a wood truss design, was begun in 1862 by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B). The masonry and most of the wooden spans were complete in 1866, but then a tornado severely damaged the wooden components on July 25, 1866. Repairs were quickly made and the first locomotive crossed the bridge on November 20, 1866. The cost of construction, including rebuilding most of the truss portions, was $2.3 million. Passenger trains began service over the bridge on November 26, 1866. The bridge was 3,269 feet (996 m) long with 13 spans.

Iron reinforcements were added between 1874 and 1880. A draw span was then installed in the late 1870s. Granite for the 1877 piers was mined in nearby Port Deposit, Maryland. In 1881, when the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) formally took control of the PW&B, it cut rival Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) off from access to the PW&B. The B&O was forced to construct a parallel route between Baltimore and Philadelphia, including a new bridge about 1 mile (1.6 km) upstream.

Second bridge

In 1904-06, the PRR replaced the PW&B crossing with a new bridge, located adjacent to the old span on the upstream side. Construction on the main structure started on August 5, 1905, and the first train rode over the bridge on May 26, 1906. The Pennsylvania Steel Company erected the west half of the bridge and the American Bridge Company erected the east half. A strike of American Bridge Company's employees delayed construction. The bridge opened for regular traffic on May 29, 1906.

The PRR offered the old bridge to the city of Havre de Grace and the counties as a road bridge, but the offer was declined. The swing span was removed by request of the War Department to aid navigation. In 1909, the PRR spent about $100,000 (equivalent to $2.43 million in 2023) to convert it to a road bridge with a new swing span and a wider deck. The railroad sold the bridge for $700 (equivalent to $24,000 in 2023) to a private firm, which reopened it as a toll bridge on December 15, 1909. This allowed the PRR to shed its obligation to carry passengers for free between Perryville and Havre de Grace on some trains, which had been a condition for the original construction of the bridge.

The state purchased the road bridge for $585,000 (equivalent to $8.15 million in 2023) in February 1923. During 1927, the state added a second deck at a cost of $450,000 (equivalent to $6.35 million in 2023) to separate directions of traffic. It was claimed to be the first double-deck road bridge in the world. Tolls on the bridge were removed on September 15, 1928. The Susquehanna River Toll Bridge upstream opened on August 28, 1940, and the older road bridge was closed. Demolition of the old bridge for wartime scrap metal began in December 1942 and was completed in April 1943. The piers were not demolished and remained in the river next to the rail bridge.

In 1934, the PRR began installing catenary on the 1906-built bridge to help extend 11,000-volt electrification south from Wilmington to Washington, D.C. Regular electrified passenger service across the bridge began on February 10, 1935. Ownership of the bridge passed to Amtrak in 1976 when it acquired much of the Northeast Corridor infrastructure. Significant repairs and rehabilitation of the bridge took place in the 1960s, 1985, 1991, and 1998. In 2005 and 2007, Amtrak replaced the ties on the bridge, installed continuous welded rail, and installed new deck-level maintenance walkways – changes meant to extend the life of the bridge by 20 to 25 years.

Replacement

In 2009 and 2010, Amtrak reports said replacing the bridge with a higher fixed span was a high priority. In May 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $22 million for engineering and environmental work. Preliminary engineering work began in 2013. The environmental impact report was released in 2017. The report analyzed 24 alternatives, including rehabilitating the existing bridge and building one or two new bridges. Both chosen alternatives called for two 2-track bridges – one just upstream with a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h), and one on the site of the existing bridge. They varied only in the maximum speed of the second bridge – 150 miles per hour (240 km/h) or 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) – with the latter requiring reconstruction of an overhead road bridge in Havre de Grace. Girder spans with a tied arch over the navigation channel were chosen. Reuse of the 1866 bridge piers for a bicycle and pedestrian bridge was considered, but was found infeasible due to their poor condition.

In November 2022, Amtrak announced plans to replace the bridge, with design and construction contracts to be awarded in 2023. In November 2023, Amtrak was awarded $2.1 billion for the project from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Amtrak awarded the main construction contract and two supporting contracts in December 2023. Removal of the ten remaining piers of the 1866 bridge began in early 2024 and was completed that December. Several stones were preserved for use by the municipalities of Perryville and Havre de Grace.

The new bridges will have 60 feet (18 m) of vertical clearance and 235 feet (72 m) of horizontal clearance. The south bridge will have a maximum speed of 160 miles per hour (260 km/h). The project includes modernization of 5 miles (8.0 km) of tracks around the bridge, including three interlockings. As of March 2024, construction of the new bridges was scheduled to begin in 2025 and finish by 2036 at a cost of $2.7 billion.

References

1. ^ Roberts, Charles S.; Messer, David W. (2003). Triumph VI: Philadelphia, Columbia, Harrisburg to Baltimore and Washington DC: 1827-2003. Baltimore, Maryland: Barnard, Roberts, and Co., Inc. ISBN 0-934118-28-0.
2. ^ "Chapter 1: Purpose and Need" (PDF). Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project Environmental Assessment And Draft 4(f) Evaluation. Federal Railroad Administration. March 2017.
3. ^ "What's Happening Here?" (PDF). Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project Newsletter. No. 2. Amtrak. May 2023. p. 1.
4. ^ Wilson, William B. (1895). History of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Philadelphia: Henry T. Coates & Co. pp. 310–311.
5. ^ Baer, Christopher T. "PRR Chronology: 1906" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 16, 2015.
6. ^ "Pennsy to Use the Big Bridge Today". Cecil Whig. May 26, 1906. p. 1. Archived from the original on July 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project" (PDF). Amtrak. 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2024-12-05. Retrieved 2024-12-22.
8. Volin, Rudy (July 6, 2006). "Hot Spots: Perryville and Havre de Grace, Md". Trains Magazine. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008.
9. Brubaker, John H. (2002). Down the Susquehanna to the Chesapeake. Penn State Press. ISBN 0-271-02184-5.
10. "Chapter 3: Transportation" (PDF). Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project Environmental Assessment And Draft 4(f) Evaluation. Federal Railroad Administration. March 2017.
11. Herbert W. Harwood, Jr. "Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad". Maryland Online Encyclopedia. Maryland Historical Society. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
12. ^ "Amtrak Completes Important Early Construction Activity for Susquehanna River Bridge Project" (Press release). Amtrak. December 17, 2024. Archived from the original on December 20, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
13. ^ "Vehicles and Pedestrians". Altoona Tribune. April 22, 1909. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "New Susquehanna Bridge". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 12, 1909. p. 27 – via Newspapers.com.
15. ^ "Havre de Grace 'Gold Mine' Bridge Being Razed For Scrap". The News Journal. December 17, 1942. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "Will Complete Double Decker Span In Month". The Evening Journal. August 16, 1927. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
17. ^ "State Bridge To Be Free". The Midland Journal. July 20, 1928. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Double-Decker in Discard As New Span Opens Today". The Morning News. August 28, 1940. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
19. Cadwalader, M.H. (April 18, 1943). "Counties With War Fever". The Baltimore Sun. p. 66 – via Newspapers.com.
20. Baer, Christopher T. "PRR Chronology: 1976" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
21. "Capital Investment in Bridge Aims to Improve Reliability" (PDF). Amtrak Ink. March 2007. pp. 1–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 6, 2011.
22. "U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $2 Billion for High-Speed Intercity Rail Projects to Grow Jobs, Boost U.S. Manufacturing and Transform Travel in America" (Press release). U.S. Department of Transportation. May 9, 2011. Archived from the original on February 20, 2013.
23. "Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project". Amtrak. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020.
24. ^ "Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project FAQ" (PDF). Amtrak. March 12, 2024.
25. ^ "Chapter 2: Project Alternatives" (PDF). Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project Environmental Assessment And Draft 4(f) Evaluation. Federal Railroad Administration. March 2017.
26. Weinberg, Harrison (November 18, 2022). "Amtrak Advances Susquehanna River Bridge Project". Amtrak. Archived from the original on November 26, 2022.
27. "Fact Sheet: President Biden Advances Vision for World Class Passenger Rail by Delivering Billions in New Funding". The White House (Press release). November 6, 2023. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023.
28. "Amtrak Awards Three Important Contracts for the Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Replacement Program" (Press release). Amtrak. December 22, 2023. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
29. "Removal of old bridge piers completed at site of Amtrak's new Susquehanna River Bridge". Train News Wire. December 18, 2024. Archived from the original on December 21, 2024. Retrieved December 21, 2024.
30. ^ "Amtrak and Partners Kick Off Susquehanna River Bridge Project" (Press release). Amtrak. July 19, 2024. Archived from the original on December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.

External links

Media related to Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge at Wikimedia Commons

• Susquehanna River Rail Bridge Project

Bridges of the Susquehanna River
Upstream Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge Amtrak Susquehanna River Bridge Downstream Chesapeake Bay Bridge (Chesapeake Bay)

• Amtrak bridges
• Bridges completed in 1906
• Bridges over the Susquehanna River
• Buildings and structures in Havre de Grace, Maryland
• Pennsylvania Railroad bridges
• Railroad bridges in Maryland
• Steel bridges in the United States
• Bridges in Cecil County, Maryland
• Bridges in Harford County, Maryland
• 1906 establishments in Maryland