Aqueduct Bridge (1st)

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In 1830, merchants from Alexandria, Virginia, which was still part of the District of Columbia at the time, proposed linking their city to Georgetown to capitalize on the new Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. Congress granted a charter to the Alexandria Canal Company in 1830, and construction soon began on the Aqueduct Bridge that would carry canal boats across the Potomac River and downriver on the south side without unloading in Georgetown. The bridge was designed by Major William Turnbull. Construction of the bridge and Alexandria Canal began in 1833; both were completed a decade later. To withstand Potomac ice floes, the piers were made of gneiss boated down from quarries upstream and were sloped upwards from the river on their upstream sides. The water-filled bridge was a weatherproofed timber queen-post truss construction. The Civil War interrupted plans to make an upper level for a railroad crossing above the lower canal level; instead, the canal was drained to make a roadway for military troops. Bridge cost $575,000.

Categories 

19th Century (6,118) Aqueduct (72) Arlington County, Virginia (26) Built 1830 (11) Built during 1830s (160) District of Columbia (68) Lost (18,402) Major William Turnbull (1)

Queenpost truss (213) Replaced by new bridge (12,163) State line crossing (722) Through truss (12,795) Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,636) Truss (29,282) Virginia (968) Washington, District of Columbia (68)

Update Log 

• November 16, 2012: New photo from Jared Mixson
• July 17, 2012: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: details from local history added
• November 13, 2011: Updated by J.P.: added description

Related Bridges 

• Aqueduct Bridge (2nd) (Successor)

Sources 

• J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
• Alexander D. Mitchell IV
• Jared Mixson

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