Rating:
4 votes

Arlington Memorial Bridge

Washington, District of Columbia
Share:

Photos 

Bascule span.

Photo taken by F Delventhal in October 2010, CC BY 2.0

Enlarge

View this photo on Flickr

Video 

HAER Animation Illustrates Arlington Memorial Bridge Bascule Span In Operation

HAER

Map 

Street Views 

Description 

Bridge in need of rehabilitation or closure, says National Park Service:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crumbling-memorial-brid...

The 216-foot draw-span section has been inoperable since Feb. 28, 1961, because other low bridges on the river prevented navigation by taller ships.

View Uglybridges.com report

Facts 

Overview
Bascule bridge with concrete arch approaches over Potomac River on Memorial Avenue
Location
Washington, District of Columbia
Status
Open to traffic
Future prospects
Bascule span (ie the Nationally Significant Historic Span) to be demolished and replaced!) PREVIOUS INFO: Proposed rehabilitation overhaul would cost about $250 million; repair contract has to be awarded by end of 2017 to get the job done by 2021. NPS is proposing $5 million in stopgap repairs.
History
Built 1932; rehabilitated 1986
Builders
- McKim, Mead & White of New York City, New York (architects)
- Strauss Bascule Bridge Co. of Chicago, Illinois
Design
Steel deck arch bascule main span (double-leaf) with concrete closed spandrel arch approach spans. The 216-foot draw-span section has been inoperable since Feb. 28, 1961, because other low bridges on the river prevented navigation by taller ships.
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 225.1 ft.
Total length: 2,128.1 ft. (0.4 mi.)
Deck width: 60.0 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
Also called
Memorial Avenue Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+38.88727, -77.05563   (decimal degrees)
38°53'14" N, 77°03'20" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/321709/4306274 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Washington West
Inventory number
BH 12252 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 04/2015)
Deck condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Serious (3 out of 9)
Appraisal: Structurally deficient
Sufficiency rating: 17.0 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2013)
60,300

Categories 

Arch (11,095)
Bascule (1,015)
Built 1932 (866)
Built during 1930s (10,404)
Closed-spandrel arch (3,535)
Deck arch (10,338)
District of Columbia (69)
Doomed (1,045)
East Coast Greenway (84)
Have street view (21,420)
McKim, Mead & White (3)
Movable (2,678)
NR-listed (2,837)
 Navigable waterway (1,990)
Open (35,950)
Owned by National Park Service (407)
Owned by federal government (977)
Potomac River (38)
Span length 175-250 feet (1,783)
Steel arch (337)
Strauss Bascule Bridge Co. (168)
Strauss underneath counterweight bascule (49)
Structurally deficient (18,253)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,625)
Washington, District of Columbia (69)

Update Log 

  • May 10, 2016: New photo from Nathan Holth
  • May 4, 2016: Updated by Nathan Holth: Nationally significant, unique bascule span to be DEMOLISHED AND REPLACED!!!!
  • March 3, 2016: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Planned repairs, proposed rehabilitation, news article link, history notes added
  • December 12, 2015: New Street View added by Douglas Butler
  • January 27, 2015: New video from Will Truax
  • July 10, 2014: New photos from Andrew Raker
  • July 9, 2014: New photos from Andrew Raker
  • June 14, 2013: New photo from M. D. Caillet
  • November 2, 2011: Photos imported by Nathan Holth
  • May 4, 2010: Updated by Nathan Holth: Updated bridge type.

Sources 

Post a comment here
Contact webmaster

Comments 

Memorial Avenue Bridge
Posted October 23, 2009, by Jim Grey (mobilene [at] gmail [dot] com)

Found this blog post with a photo of this bridge being built - just the formwork was up.

http://www.shorpy.com/node/7034