Chesapeake City Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Chesapeake City Bridge carries Maryland Route 213
across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City, Maryland
. There are two undivided traffic lanes and one sidewalk on the east side of the bridge. It was built in 1949 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide a high-level canal crossing. An older vertical lift drawbridge
was destroyed on July 28, 1942 after being struck by the tanker Franz Klasen. The bridge is identical in appearance to the old St. Georges Bridge in Delaware
(they were constructed roughly at the same time) except for the number of lanes.
. This lift bridge itself was a replacement of an earlier wooden swing bridge
. The replacement was necessitated by the expansion of the canal in the 1920s.
Maryland Route 213
Maryland Route 213 is a state highway located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the United States. The route runs from Maryland Route 662 in Wye Mills, Queen Anne's County north to the Pennsylvania border in Cecil County, where it continues into that state as Pennsylvania Route 841...
across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in Chesapeake City, Maryland
Chesapeake City, Maryland
Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 787 at the 2000 census.The town was originally named by Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohemia , but the name was changed in 1839 when the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was built...
. There are two undivided traffic lanes and one sidewalk on the east side of the bridge. It was built in 1949 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide a high-level canal crossing. An older vertical lift drawbridge
Lift bridge
A vertical-lift bridge or lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck....
was destroyed on July 28, 1942 after being struck by the tanker Franz Klasen. The bridge is identical in appearance to the old St. Georges Bridge in Delaware
St. Georges Bridge (Delaware)
The St. Georges Bridge is a steel truss bridge with a tied arch span that carries U.S. Route 13 across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal in St. Georges, Delaware. Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and opened in 1942 as a high-level crossing, the bridge was the first four-lane, high-level...
(they were constructed roughly at the same time) except for the number of lanes.
Vertical lift span
The Chesapeake City vertical lift span was constructed between 1924 and 1928 . The bridge carried Maryland Route 213, connecting George Street on the south side of the canal with Lock Street on the north. Following the destruction of the bridge, the new high-level bridge was constructed approximately 500 feet (152 m) to the west. Maryland Route 213 was diverted to the new bridge, while the surface streets leading to the former bridge site were resigned as Maryland Route 537Maryland Route 537
Maryland Route 537 is an unsigned state highway in Cecil County, Maryland running through Chesapeake City. The highway is divided into three segments, all of which are designated with a lettered suffix...
. This lift bridge itself was a replacement of an earlier wooden swing bridge
Swing bridge
A swing bridge is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its centre of gravity, about which the turning span can then pivot horizontally as shown in the animated illustration to the right...
. The replacement was necessitated by the expansion of the canal in the 1920s.
See also
- List of crossings of the Cheasapeake & Delaware Canal
Further reading
- The Day the Ship Knocked the Bridge Down: Where Were You? by Robert Hazel, Rare Harmony Publishing.