Pennsylvania Union Canal Overview

Graciela Whitcher posted three images with the comment: "Pennsylvania's Union Canal was a significant water transportation route that existed in the 19th century. Proposed by William Penn in 1690, it aimed to connect Philadelphia with the Susquehanna River. Construction began in 1792 and was completed in 1828, running approximately 82 miles from Middletown to Reading. The canal played a crucial role in shipping anthracite coal and lumber eastward to Philadelphia, and it featured 93 locks and a 4-foot deep channel. The Union Canal Tunnel, in Lebanon, Penna., is the oldest existing transportation tunnel in the U.S., remains a notable part of its legacy."

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[See also "1827-1885 Union Canal Tunnel near Lebanon, PA; the Oldest Extant Transportation Tunnel in USA"]

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Road/C&O Bridge over Kanawha Canal at Richmond, VA

(Satellite)

safe_image for With lawsuit lingering, CSX begins repairs to disputed Kanawha Canal Bridge

RichmondBizSense
"The original bridge across that section of the canal was destroyed in a flood in 1985. CSX built the replacement bridge by laying wooden planks atop an abandoned railway trestle, creating the version of the bridge that has been used ever since."

This map shows the original bridge and the fact that today's bridge was an industrial railroad spur. I'm guessing that the C&O spur was used to supply coal cars to the University of Richmond. This map also confirms that what Google Maps labels as East Branch Tuckahoe Creek was the Kanawha Canal.

1964/65 Bon Air Quad @ 24,000

1859 Cheasapeak and Albermarle Canal (Intercoastal Waterway) and Great Bridge Lock & C&A/NS Bridge

Virginia Cut: (Satellite, between Elizabeth and North Landing Rivers.)

North Caroline Cut: (Satellite, between Coinjock Bay and North River.)

Lock: (Satellite)

Bridge: (Satellite)

The lock is more of a guard lock; that is, it doesn't have a lot of lift. The boat on the right is in the lock. On the right side of this view, we get a glimpse of a boat in the lock.

Street View, Aug 2023

carolana

The lock is "a reversible guard lock with double gates at each end of a 220-foot long chamber....The guard lock, reconditioned in 1973 and floored, is unique since it handles alternate heads of water from west and east in the tidal Elizabeth River and fresh water from the North Landing River." [carolana]

Satellite

1902/23 Norfolk Quad @ 125,000

The 75 mile canal had to cut through just 14 miles of land. "The Virginia cut was 8.45 miles long, and the North Carolina cut was 5.6 miles long....The United States government acquired the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal in 1912 and improved it, first eliminating the guard lock, then in 1932 replacing it with the present six hundred (600) foot steel and concrete guard lock. The channel was dredged and maintained for a twelve (12) foot draft. Covering a distance of almost two hundred (200) miles from Norfolk, VA to Beaufort, NC, the waterway varies in bottom width from ninety (90) feet in land cuts to three hundred (300) feet in open waters. Between 1970 and 1979, commerce on the Albemarle & Chesapeake Canal portion of the Intracoastal Waterway averaged roughly 1.4 million tons annually." [carolana]

The bridge was built by the original Norfolk Southern, not today's NS. The bridge is now owned by the Chesapeake & Albemarie Railroad.

1 of 6 photos posted by Tom Blair, cropped
Took the skiff out for a bit today.  Went out in the Chesapeake and Albemarle Canal (Intercoastal Waterway).  This is the NS drawbridge over the canal, still used today by the Chesapeake and Albemarle Railroad

Some of the views do show it is used by commercial traffic. For example:

Street View, May 2018

A train must be close to the bridge because the bridge is not in the raised position.

Street View, Mar 2023

1907 NS/L&H, NS/CNJ and 1901 LV Bridges over Delaware River at Phillipsburg, NJ

From north to south:

L&H: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

CNJ: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; Satellite)

LV: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; no Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite, the pin is correct, but the photos are of the L&H bridge.)

Delaware Canal Diversion Dam: (Satellite)

Lehigh & Hudson Bridge

Thomas Dorman posted
Lehigh & Hudson River bridge over the Delaware River, 10 May 2025
[The Delaware River has joined the May 2025 Flood. The canal diversion dam on the Lehigh River that we see under the left span is almost covered. Below is a normal river level.]

lN10 Fit, Aug 2023

Street View, Aug 2024

HistoricBridges_L&H

One does not notice that the truss line is bent in the elevation views.

Loretta Killian via ArchivedBridgeHunter_L&H

Archived Panoramio via ArchivedBridgeHunter_L&H, Adam Elmquist

Archived Panoramio via ArchivedBridgeHunter_L&H, Adam Elmquist

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Central New Jersey Bridge

Thomas Dorman posted
Central Railroad of New Jersey bridge over the Delaware River, 10 May 2025

Photo by Owl's Flight Photography via BridgeHunter_CNJ
The NS/CNJ bridge is on the right. The Aban/LV bridge is on the left, and the The NS/L&H bridge is in the right background.
[This is the only photo I could find with a good view of the CNJ pier so that you can compare the river level with Thomas' photo above.]

2020 Photo by Geoff Hubbs via BridgeHunter_CNJ
Span over Delaware Canal looking northwest

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Lehigh Valley Bridge

The CNJ and L&H bridges are in the background.

1983 Photo by Doug Lily via BridgeHunter_LV

"Significance: This structure occupies the piers of the first railroad bridge to cross the Delaware River at Easton. It is also notable for its fish-belly deck trusses, an unusual variant of the Pratt design." [HAER_data]

This makes it obvious that it is a pin-connected truss.

2020 Photo by Geoff Hubbs via BridgeHunter_LV
Span over Delaware Canal looking northwest

HAER PA,48-EATO,14--1
1. Overview, from west bank of Delaware River, looking northeast. - Lehigh Valley Railroad, Delaware River Bridge, Spanning Delaware River, south of Lehigh River, Easton, Northampton County, PA

Lehigh Canal Lock #47 in Easton, PA

(Satellite)

Mark Madson, Jul 2019

I got the lock number of #47 from this post. Note that a bulkhead has been added between 2019 and 2025 at the upstream gate location to remove the water pressure on the wooden gate.

Metrotrails added

Lehigh Canal Lock 47, Easton Pa.

This was historically a double lock, and one of them had been kept in good repair for many years as part of Hugh Moore Park. Unfortunately, it appears to be in rough condition and braced up today.

1904,1984,2010 Riegelsville Bridge over Delaware River and Trail Bridge over Delaware Canal

1904: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; Satellite)

2009 Trail: (Archived Bridge Hunter; Bridge Hunter; Satellite)

The town was established because of a ferry crossing. In 1832 the Delaware Canal opened and the town had another burst of growth.  A covered bridge that was built in 1838. This 1904 bridge replaced the covered bridge.

This 577' (176m) long bridge was built by the John A. Roebling's Sons Co. and has a longest span of 200' (61m). "Its design is unusual because it contains multiple, relatively short suspension spans. Most suspension bridges that are familiar today are much larger bridges that contains only two suspension towers." [HistoricBridges]

 

Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
"Current bridge is the third oldest existing superstructure in the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s 20-bridge system....The Commission posts bridge monitors at the bridge on a 24/7 basis to prevent crossings of overweight/oversized vehicles on the unique multi-catenary weight-restricted suspension bridge."

Kevin Coffer, May 2020

Gary, Oct 2022

Chris Herschel, Oct 2023, cropped

 

Bob Dover posted

The structure of the Reigelsville Suspension Bridge connecting Bucks County, Pennsylvania to Warren County, New Jersey, has cute little oil derrick-shaped towers about 15 feet high sitting on massive white stone piers 30 feet high. The tiny towers straddle the sidewalks on either side of the bridge, seeming to make the sidewalks part of the structure and not an appendage added on to its side. Plaques above the roadway on the suspension towers signify the construction by John A. Roebling’s Sons Company of New York in 1904, in fancy decorative script. At the eastern end, the carved stone date plaque from the original bridge, showing its date of 1837, has been incorporated into the 1904 anchor block.

The town of Riegelsville clearly takes pride in being the location of a lovely Roebling bridge. The western approach to the bridge crosses the remains of the Delaware Canal, the towpath of which has been converted into part of the regional Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network of hiking and biking trails. Historical plaques along the towpath discuss the history of the canal, the 1837 covered bridge, and the 1904 Roebling bridge. The village is a National Historic District, and the best access to the bridge is to park at the historic Riegelsville Inn, which features the image of the little oil derrick-shaped suspension towers on its sign.

I have posted several other photos this bridge, and some other Delaware River bridges, on www.bridgespotting.com. There is also a detailed discussion of the bridges of the upper Delaware River, including a recommended tour, in Chapter 9 of my book, Bridgespotting Part 2: A Guide to Even More Bridges that Connect People, Places, and Times.

Sloan Farrell: Amazing bridge! Back in the early 80's, I worked for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission as a summer job and this bridge was one of the bridges we worked on. The Riegelsville bridge had timber planks and we used to test the strength of the planks. If there was a rotted plank, we would rip up and replace. The next summer we got to rip up all the planks and put down steel open-grid roadway deck. Did we haul away the creosol soaked planks and properly dispose of them? Ummm, not so much. Most floated, sank, or fell on the piers until the Delaware rose up to wash them away. Yup. I don't think we had any safety harnesses as well. Also, because of the size of the bridge and weight limit, the bridge had a guard on each side to stop any trucks from trying go over. May still have them. Though we had constructions jobs up and down the river, we did a lot of grass mowing and painting. If we finished early which happened a lot, we were told by the foreman to get out of the public eye which meant getting on the bridge by a pier, climbing off the bridge onto the pier and under the bridge were it was shaded. We just hanged out bsing till we had to go back. The last thing is that there was a old dive bar, called Hootz, on the NJ side. During lunch, we would go in get very good burger and I think 50 cent drafts. Might be 75 cent. Over 40 years ago. https://www.drjtbc.org/bridges/riegelsville/

Laura Mirsky: Sloan Farrell Hootz is still there!

Andrew Iwanowsk commented on Bob's post
March 2005

Chris Herschel commented on Bob's post

Chris Herschel commented on Bob's post

Chris Herschel commented on Bob's post

This bridge reminded me of an extradosed bridge because of its multiple short towers. But an extradosed bridge is a variant of a cable-stayed bridge rather than a suspension bridge.

MNDOT Banner via Dennis DeBruler

Trail Bridge

Just west of the suspension bridge is a new bridge over the former Delaware Canal.

Pennelope Blakely, Oct 2021

2012 Photo by Andrew Pearce via ArchivedBridgeHunter

Deirdre Gallahue-Thorp, Oct 2022

1845-1899 Old Beauharnois Canal and Aqueduct

Western Remnant: (Satellite)

(Aqueduct)

A Street View from the western (upstream) end:

Street View, Jul 2020

stlawrencepiks
The Old Beauharnois Canal was completed in 1845. The Soulanges Canal opened in 1899. The Beauharnois Power Canal opened in 1932. The two locks at the end of the power canal were added by 1959 as part of the St. Lawrence Seaway project. The Soulanges Canal was closed when the Seaway opened because those two locks could do the work of the five locks on the old canal.

Dom Lemyre posted 11 photos with the comment:

AQUEDUC OF THE RIVER-SAINT-PIERRE 1842-43

•Remnant of the old Beauharnois Canal

•The only remains of the old canal still intact

•Allowed farmers and cattle to pass through both sides of the canal

•the old Beauharnois Canal passed over it

Dom Lemyre shared

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We can tell from the walkway that this photo is looking in the opposite direction of the first two photos.

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Dom commented on his sixth photo
This tunnel is about on the red spot.

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