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Chain Bridge

Washington, District of Columbia, and Arlington County, Virginia
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Street Views 

Description 

Eighth bridge at this location, derives its name from the third bridge, a chain suspension bridge. First bridge built by Timothy Palmer for Georgetown Bridge Co., wooden covered bridge opened 1797, rotted and collapsed 1804. Rebuilt by Georgetown Bridge Co. in kind, washed away by flood after six months. Third bridge opened 1810, chain suspension span 136' long, 15' wide designed by Judge James E. Finley of Uniontown, PA, swept away by flood 1812; fourth span damaged 1815 by floods; fifth span built 1840 and also destroyed by flooding. Sixth bridge wooden covered span of seven spans, Howe truss with arches, uncovered during Civil War to prevent arson, washed out 1870. Army engineers built iron truss replacement 1874, weakened by 1936 flood and replaced with current girder bridge.

Facts 

Overview
Girder bridge over Potomac River and Chesapeake & Ohio Canal
Location
Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, and Arlington County, Virginia
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1937; rehabilitated 1983
Builder
- Modjeski, Masters & Chase of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Design
Girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 171.9 ft.
Total length: 1,355.1 ft.
Deck width: 35.1 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+38.93000, -77.11500   (decimal degrees)
38°55'48" N, 77°06'54" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/316669/4311135 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Washington West
Inventory numbers
DC 1 (District of Columbia bridge number)
BH 52948 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection (as of 12/2011)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Appraisal: Functionally obsolete
Sufficiency rating: 65.0 (out of 100)
Average daily traffic (as of 2006)
21,800

Categories 

Arlington County, Virginia (18)
Built 1937 (544)
Built during 1930s (8,549)
Continuous (898)
District of Columbia (54)
Functionally obsolete (7,035)
Girder (3,228)
Have street view (9,880)
Modjeski, Masters & Chase (1)
 Open (28,297)
Owned by state (9,803)
Span length 125-175 feet (2,950)
State line crossing (513)
Total length 1000-2500 feet (1,210)
Virginia (540)
Washington, D.C. (4)
Washington, District of Columbia (54)

Update Log 

  • March 1, 2013: Updated by Andy Peters: adds detail to overview and what the bridge crosses
  • July 17, 2012: Updated by Luke Harden: Removed city name from builder
  • July 17, 2012: Added by Alexander D. Mitchell IV

Sources 

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