Rating:
No votes cast

Bloomsbury Bridge

Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and Warren County, New Jersey
Share:

Photos 

View from Rt 173 on the old mill property. This bridge is 25 yards downstream from a millpond dam.

As of August 2012 the bridge is getting some rust removal and repainting work.

Photo taken by Andrew Pearce in August 2012

Enlarge

Map 

Description 

This one lane pin connected Pratt through truss was widened to be a full modern two lane bridge. A full girder span was built underneath it, so the truss is just for show.

see: http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=newjersey/bloomsbury/

HOWEVER it should be noted that the chords and verticals on this bridge are FAR heavier than other single lane bridges of the period in the area.

Several turn of the century photographs of the bridge when it was almost new can be found at http://westjerseyhistory.org/images/hunterdon/bloomsbury/

Hunterdon County, not Warren 

Written by Andrew Pearce

This bridge is in Hunterdon County, not Warren County. Granted it is right on the county line, because the county line has been the Musconetcong River for a very long time now.

UglyBridges has this one listed as being in Warren County -
http://uglybridges.com/1368791
which is a mistake. Notice the blue sign in picture 4.

Facts 

Overview
Pratt through truss bridge over Musconetcong River on CR 579 (aka Church Street)
Location
Bloomsbury NJ, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, and Warren County, New Jersey
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1892, reconstructed 1995
Builder
- Toledo Bridge Co. of Toldeo, Ohio
Design
Pratt through truss
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 105.0 ft.
Total length: 111.9 ft.
Deck width: 39.7 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 17.1 ft.
Skew angle
16 degrees
Also called
CR 579 Bloomsbury Bridge
Church Street Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.65537, -75.08889   (decimal degrees)
40°39'19" N, 75°05'20" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/492485/4500504 (zone/easting/northing)
USGS topographic map
Bloomsbury
Inventory numbers
NBI 2100718
NJ Inter-county I-3-W (New Jersey bridge number)
BH 53240 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

19th Century (3,821)
Bloomsbury NJ, New Jersey (1)
Built 1892 (86)
Built during 1890s (1,556)
Hunterdon County, New Jersey (124)
New Jersey (749)
Open (28,310)
Owned by city (3,051)
Pin-connected (1,521)
Pratt through truss (3,166)
 Pratt truss (5,660)
Preserved (652)
Skewed (4,080)
Span length 100-125 feet (3,299)
Through truss (9,206)
Toledo Bridge Co. (15)
Total length 100-125 feet (3,633)
Truss (23,569)
Warren County, New Jersey (71)

Update Log 

  • August 31, 2012: Updated by Andrew Pearce: updated county data to allow for both counties
  • August 24, 2012: Updated by Andrew Pearce: added data pictures and links

Sources 

  • Hunterdon DPW Report to Freeholders - August 2012 document names the bridge I-3-W and says painting is beginning. Pictures taken today show painting is just beginning. Ipso facto, this is bride I-3-W, because the other bridges on CR5 79 are not getting painted.
Post a comment here
Contact webmaster

Comments 

Bloomsbury Bridge
Posted August 24, 2012, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

Actually, the USGS Topo maps indicate that the Warren/Hunterdon County line runs along the centerline of the river in this area. It does not follow the nearby road. Therefore, this bridge should correctly be listed in both Warren and Hunterdon County. Those "Welcome To County" signs are definitely not a very useful tool to determine where the county line is. I have seen many signs not exactly on the line. It was probably placed at the intersection because there was no easy or tasteful place to put it on the historic bridge, where it would be an obstructive eyesore.