The 10th Street Bridge, Sunbury Pa

 

"John Long's coal barge is moored on the Shamokin Creek, Sunbury.  In the background is the South Tenth street bridge that leads to the former Sunbury landfill.  The wooden floor bridge still stands."

The Daily Item, 1984

40 years later, in 2024, the bridge technically still stands.  Mostly.

The Tulpehocken Oath once crossed the creek here, in the vicinity of this bridge, connecting Sunbury with Womelsdorf, a short distance west of Reading.   

The Bridge was constructed in 1916

In 1962, the floor of the bridge was badly deteriorated.  The Daily Item reported that "some wooden planks were attached to the floor recently so that the wheels of vehicles would not drop through the holes."

A new floor was installed in the spring of 1962.  2x6 native oak lumber, positioned end to end across steel beams.

The bridge was mainly used by trucks and cars delivering trash to the Sunbury citty owned waste disposal area on the south side of the creek at the foot of Kershners Hill.

A new floor had been installed back in 1924 as well.  At the time, it was planned for creosote planks to be used.

1980 Bridge Inspection Report

It does appear that planks are once again ready to repair the floor of the bridge, although it seems unlikely that it would ever be re-opened to vehicular traffic.

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More Bridges Across Shamokin Creek in Sunbury

Lenker Avenue, showing, in the distance, the covered bridge that crossed Shamokin Creek, just north of the south 10th street bridge

Another bridge across Shamokin Creek, with a rail line behind it...

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When The Bridge Fell In Milton, March 1987

 
The Milton West Milton Bridge Collapsed on Friday March 27th, 1987, while a new bridge was being constructed beside it.  All of the vehicles on the bridge were able to exit just before it gave way.

The Market Street Bridge, Williamsport PA

The Market Street Bridge, Williamsport Pa

The original Market Street Bridge in Williamsport was a covered toll bridge.  It was constructed in 1849, at a cost of $23,797 (The equivalent $920,000 in 2022).  There have been at least seven bridges across the Susquehanna River at this location.

According to the church tour we took in 2022,  The wood beams in the City Alliance Church [Formerly the First Baptist Church, on 4th Street]  are recycled from the last wooden market street bridge.

Building The Watsontown & White Deer River Bridge

Construction of the Watsontown White Deer River Bridge, 1928

(More pictures of the bridges construction on down  the page)

Today, it's hard to imagine Watsontown without it's picturesque bridge, spanning from its borough in Northumberland County, to  White Deer, Union County, across the river.    But for many decades, not only was there no bridge, but the idea of a bridge was a major fight.  Or more specifically, the idea of who would be paying for the bridge, was a major source of contention.  

In 1909, William C. Brimmer was elected Chief Burgess [Mayor] of Watsontown, with his primary purpose being to get the bridge project approved.  Brimmer fought for the bridge, facing numerous court battles right up until the project began in May of 1927.

It took seventeen years of battling through Pennsylvania’s court system and the state legislature.  Instead of the construction being split 50/50, Northumberland County (based on population) took on 85% of the cost, with the Northumberland Commissioners complaining about the cost and how it would bankrupt them, for years. 

Finally  on July 12, 1927, work began on a bridge across the Susquehanna River from Watsontown to White Deer.    It was dedicated in a ceremony on July 4th 1928, but could not be opened to traffic because there was no suitable road access on the White Deer side.  This problem continued for two years, until the state took over all county bridges in 1930, and finally a suitable access road was constructed on the Union County side.

The Bridge Between Montgomery & Muncy

 

October 1958

The Trolley Bridge Between Sunbury & Shamokin Dam

 The new trolley bridge between Sunbury And Shamokin Dam opened on October 5th 1907.  The bridge was built for the S&S (Sunbury & Selinsgrove) Trolley line.

The bridge provided a rail line for the trolleys, wagons, and automobiles.  

A toll house was constructed on the east end of the bridge, in Sunbury.

Tolls were collected on the right side of the building, a store selling small travel items was in the left side.  The toll collector lived on the second floor.

Rates for the bridge, when it opened in October 1907

Twenty Crossings for $1

Toll Bridge Tickets

View across the bridge, from the Shamokin Dam side

Trolley crossing the new bridge

Sunbury Toll Bridge Tickets

Trolley on the bridge in 1908

Post card of the 1908 trolley bridge

In October 1928, the toll house was moved in preparation for a new  bridge to be built

MOVE HEAVY TOLL BRIDGE 

Sunbury Span Weighing Three Million Pounds Placed on New Location

 Three million pounds of steel and wood in the old toll bridge at the foot of Bainbridge street, Sunbury, was lifted from its foundations at 7:45 o'clock yesterday morning and in a few minutes was slowly moving down stream to false piers where it will rest and be in constant use while the new structure is being completed. Hundreds of people crowded upon the bridge as the work was started, and vehicles of all kind passed back and forth across the structure while the work was in progress. It was impossible to move the street car tracks while the bridge was in motion, but the trolley car stopped at the west end of the bridge while the passengers were transferred to a large Bus of the West Branch Transit Company and then hauled across the bridge to the terminal in Sunbury. The old bridge was erected by the York Bridge Company and opened to traffic October 5th, 1907. There are fourteen spans each 157 feet in length, or a total length of 2238 feet.

Each span weighs slightly over 100 tons. In three hours the bridge was moved four feet six inches, and the task was completed yesterday afternoon. It was moved 26 feet. Steel work for the new girder bridge is ready to be moved onto the site, and workmen arrived today from Bethlehem Steel Company ready to place the steel in position. Contractor Rockwell declared that the new bridge would be completed before Christmas if the weather continued favorable..

The new bridge opened in December of 1928. 

Lights were added to the bridge in October of 1929

The toll old house still stood, off to the side, into the 1950s.

The builder was Mr Rockwell, who also built the Watsontown-White Deer Bridge.

The new, smaller, toll booth in 1928

Lewis Banks of Lewisburg purchased the former Bainbridge Street Bridge, for $10,000

[It might be interesting to track what he did with it...]

The Toll House Was Torn Down in 1957

The bridge was incredibly narrow, and combined with the large traffic circle on the Shamokin Dam side, was a frequent source of complaints.

The 1928 Bridge was torn down in the late 1980s

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First Toll Taker Hopes To Take Final Fare, 1957