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Manayunk Bridge Trail - Pencoyd Viaduct (1918)

Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Photos 

Photo taken by Historic American Engineering Record

View photos at Library of Congress

BH Photo #218398

Map 

Street View 

Description 

Bridge has a large concrete open spandrel arch bridge built on a reverse curve, earning both the current bridge and its 1883 wrought-iron-truss predecessor the nickname of "S-Bridge. Bridge has saw-toothed construction joints along a 65-degree skew. Bridge connected Manayunk and Bala Cynwyd. There are 3 piers in the water.Bridge crosses, in addition to Schuylkill Expressway and Schuylkill River, the Schuylkill Canal.

See also http://planphilly.com/articles/2015/10/30/manayunk-bridge-re...

http://www.uwishunu.com/2015/10/manayunk-bridge-reopens-toda...

Facts 

Overview
Open-spandrel arch bridge over Schuylkill River built by Pennsylvania Railroad in 1918, now rail-trail bridge for bicycle/pedestrian use
Location
Bala Cynwyd, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Status
Closed to rail traffic in 1986, reopened as pedestrian bridge Nov. 2015
Future prospects
Now part of the Cynwynd Heritage Trail, reopened as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge November 2015.
History
Built 1918 by the former Schuylkill Valley Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad; closed 1986
Builder
- T. L. Eyre of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Railroads
- Conrail (CR)
- Penn Central Railroad (PC)
- Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR)
- Rapid Transit
- Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)
Design
Open-spandrel arch
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 150.0 ft.
Also called
PRR - Pencoyd Viaduct
Manayunk Bridge
Approximate latitude, longitude
+40.02519, -75.22659   (decimal degrees)
40°01'31" N, 75°13'36" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
18/480665/4430577 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Germantown
Inventory number
BH 49900 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Arch (12,656)
Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania (2)
Built 1918 (505)
Built during 1910s (9,970)
Conrail (1,710)
Deck arch (11,893)
Have street view (28,909)
Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (235)
Open to pedestrians (4,582)
Open-spandrel arch (804)
Owned by state (16,555)
Penn Central Railroad (1,538)
 Pennsylvania (5,794)
Pennsylvania Railroad (1,027)
Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania (227)
Preserved (1,229)
Rail-to-trail (1,656)
Railroad (16,459)
Rapid Transit (115)
Schuylkill River (94)
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (68)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,419)
T. L. Eyre (1)

Update Log 

  • October 7, 2021: New photos from Patrick Gurwell
  • October 6, 2019: New photos from Geoff Hubbs
  • August 30, 2019: New Street View added by Geoff Hubbs
  • November 30, 2015: Photo imported by Alexander D. Mitchell IV
  • November 3, 2015: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Bridge reopened as pedestrian/bicycle trail bridge
  • July 15, 2014: Updated by Luke Harden: Added category "Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority"
  • July 15, 2014: Updated by Alexander D. Mitchell IV: Updated planned conversion to trail
  • May 21, 2012: Updated by Daniel Hopkins: Added future plans to become part of the rail trail
  • May 17, 2012: Updated by Jodi Christman: Added name and details
  • October 24, 2011: Added by James Baughn

Related Bridges 

Sources 

  • HAER PA-551 - Pennsylvania Railroad, Manayunk Bridge, Spanning Schuylkill Expressway (I-76), Schuylkill River & Green Lane, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA
  • Wikipedia
  • Jodi Christman - masterofchaos [at] outlook [dot] com
  • Daniel Hopkins - chimera [at] clovermail [dot] net
  • Alexander D. Mitchell IV
  • Geoff Hubbs
  • Patrick Gurwell - pgurwell [at] gmail [dot] com
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Comments 

Pencoyd Viaduct
Posted July 15, 2014, by Alexander D. Mitchell IV

http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/newsroom/news-item-detail...

STREETS DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN ON THE MANAYUNK BRIDGE TRAIL PROJECT

Construction Completion by Fall 2015

Philadelphia – Streets Commissioner David J. Perri announced today that the Notice to Proceed for construction for the Manayunk Bridge Trail Project will be issued on Monday, July 14 [2014].

The project will transform the former railroad bridge into an elevated bicycle and pedestrian trail to connect the Manayunk section of Philadelphia with the Cynwyd Heritage Trail in Lower Merion Township.

Work will be performed by A.P. Construction, Inc. The amount of the construction contract is approximately $4.1M, and it is being funded by State funds from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Community Transportation Initiative, and PennDOT Surface Transportation Program, local funds from Lower Merion Township, and federal funds. Construction is expected to be completed by Fall 2015.

Pencoyd Viaduct
Posted January 31, 2014, by george oakley (geotgeoakley49 [at] yahoo [dot] com)

has this bridge been turned into a trail bridge?please let me know.thanks.

Manayunk Bridge
Posted October 24, 2011, by Nathan Holth (form3 [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

This bridge is slated to be turned into a trail bridge: http://www.montgomerynews.com/articles/2011/10/20/roxborough...