Elm Street Bridge

Photos 

The Elm Street lenticular truss in Neshanic Station NJ.

Photo taken by Andrew Pearce in August 2012

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Map 

Street View 

Description 

This bridge has moderate amounts of modifications to stiffen it against side to side swaying; each vertical has a double corner brace connecting it to the top struts, and both ends of each "lens" have welded on bracing. Recent rehabilitation has also strengthened the top chord and floor beams, and put new pins in everywhere.

Essay 

This is a fairly popular bridge online. You can find quite a bit of information and many pictures of it at http://www.historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=newjersey/neshanicstation/ and you can get many hits from Googling "Lenticular bridge neshanic station".

None of that will really give you the experience though. This great heap of bent and riveted white painted steel is impressive as all get out to those who are effected by such things. It's amazing. And it's all right at the end of your arm, as the walkway is set partway up the truss. All the pins, rods, tension adjusters, laced verticals, diagonals, turnbuckles ... it's all right in front of you. And the bridge does not get so much traffic that you feel pressured to move along. What makes it even better is the 2 span abandoned railroad bridge 50 yards away, a pin connected Pratt that is rusting and rotting away to nothing, right next to the old mill the RR once supplied. Both bridges were built at the same time.

Park at the post office a block away and walk back. You can get under the bridge though all the land is marked No Trespassing.

From here it is only a couple of miles drive to see 3 or more of the more interesting old truss bridges in Somerset County, including a Phoenix column RR bridge and ending with the Nevius Street Whipple, plus 2 or more very pretty brand new pony truss bridges.

Facts 

Overview

Lenticular through truss bridge over South Branch Raritan River on CR 667

Location

Neshanic Station, Somerset County, New Jersey

Status

Open to traffic

History

Built 1896; rehabilitated 1984

Builder

- Berlin Iron Bridge Co. of East Berlin, Connecticut

Design

Lenticular through truss

Dimensions

Length of largest span: 141.1 ft.
Total length: 285.1 ft.
Deck width: 13.1 ft.
Vertical clearance above deck: 14.6 ft.

Recognition

Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places

Also called

Neshanic Station Bridge
South Branch Raritan River Bridge

Approximate latitude, longitude

+40.50917, -74.72750   (decimal degrees)
40°30'33" N, 74°43'39" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")

Approximate UTM coordinates

18/523086/4484307 (zone/easting/northing)

USGS topographic map

Raritan

Inventory numbers

NJ 18C0601 (New Jersey bridge number)
BH 25540 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Inspection (as of 10/2011)

Deck condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Superstructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Very Good (8 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 47.7 (out of 100)

Average daily traffic (as of 2011)

1,612

Categories 

Update Log 

• August 16, 2012: Essay added by Andrew Pearce
• January 19, 2012: New Street View added by K. A. Erickson

Sources 

• K. A. Erickson
• Historicbridges.org - by Nathan Holth
• Historicbridges.org - by Nathan Holth

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