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| Street View, Sep 2014 |
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| Image via ddotlibrary via ddot "The Francis Scott Key Bridge was built in 1923 and is the oldest continuously used bridge in Washington, D.C....The Aquaduct Bridge was previously at this location, a structure that originally transported canal boats over the river to connect with the Alexandria Canal in Virginia. Later in the 19th century, the Aquaduct Bridge was converted to carry wagons, streetcars, and eventually automobiles across before closing in 1923 upon the opening of the Key Bridge." |
The Aquaduct Bridge:
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| ddot |
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| LOT 4336, no. 13 [P&P], cropped Aqueduct Bridge, Georgetown, D.C., looking toward Washington |
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| arlingtonva "In 1868, a second level was added to the bridge to serve as a road between Rosslyn and Georgetown for people and carts. In 1886, the bridge was closed to canal boats, but the Aqueduct Bridge continued to be used as a bridge for traffic between Georgetown and Rosslyn until 1923, when the Key Bridge opened." |
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| StreetsOfWashington, c. 1865. Source: Library of Congress "Building the bridge's piers was the biggest challenge. The plan was to construct cofferdams at appropriate spots in the river, pump the water out and then build the piers inside them. However, they had to be built at an incredible depth—through 18 feet of water and 17 feet of silt—to reach a solid bedrock foundation. River cofferdams had never been built so deep before. The first ones erected leaked mercilessly and had to be completely replaced. The second set were little better, filling with water after an hour or so and with mud oozing in from below." |
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| DCPL Commons Flickr via StreetsOfWashington, Public Domain Aqueduct Bridge View of Aqueduct Bridge, Georgetown University is in the background (ca 1900) After it was used as a wagon bridge for the Civil War, a second aqueduct was built with a toll road across the top. In 1888, the aqueduct and toll road were replaced by an iron-truss road bridge. |
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| CanalTrust "By 1859, the port of Alexandria received nearly three-fifths of the coal carried on the C&O Canal." |
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| ddot |
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| Arlington Historical Society posted On this day in Arlington history: January 17, 1923: the new $2.35 million Key Bridge opens. The Francis Scott Key Bridge, more commonly known as the Key Bridge, is a six-lane reinforced concrete arch bridge conveying U.S. Route 29 traffic across the Potomac River. Completed in 1923, it is Washington's oldest surviving bridge across the Potomac River. The Classical Revival bridge was designed by Nathan C. Wyeth and engineer Max C. Tyler and was built by the US Army Corps of Engineers between 1917 and 1923, and was named after Francis Scott Key, author of The Star Spangled Banner. The Key Bridge replaced the Aqueduct Bridge which was originally built to carry the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal across the Potomac to connect with the Alexandria Canal. After the Alexandria Canal was abandoned, the bridge was converted into a roadway. The Washington abutment still survives and is located west of the Key Bridge. One pier remains and is located in the river near the Virginia shore. The original 1923 road deck was 70' wide. It included two traffic lanes, a center lane for trolley tracks, and two sidewalks. In 1955, the trolley tracks were eliminated. The Key Bridge spans between the old Capital Transit Co. Streetcar Barn in Georgetown to its southern terminus in Virginia at North Lynn Street. The bridge rises just under 100 feet above the Potomac river below. |
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| HAER DC,WASH,583- 4. AERIAL VIEW LOOKING NORTH TOWARDS D. C. - Francis Scott Key Bridge, Spanning Potomac River near Georgetown, Washington, District of Columbia, DC Photos from Survey HAER DC-51 |
The bridge also goes over the C&O Canal.
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| LivingCityDC, 1 of many photos of the bridge and neighborhood "The bridge was built between 1917 and 1923 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers led by Colonel W. L. Fiske....The Francis Scott Key Bridge is held aloft by five arches of varying widths: the central arch is 208' [63.4m] wide, two adjacent arches are 204' [62.2], and the last two are 187' [60m] long." For a total length of 1,701 feet long (518.5 meters). Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner, lived in Washington DC. |
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| HistoricBridges "This attractive arch bridge is also noted as a rare example of a Melan type arch bridge with solid steel reinforcing." |
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| Bridges Now and Then posted "Potomac Boat Club with the Key Bridge under construction in the background, District of Columbia, 1921". (National Photo Company Collection) |
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