1965 NS/(CNJ+Lehigh Valley) and 1924 Hill to Hill Bridges over Lehigh River in Bethlehem, PA

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

Hill to Hill: (no Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

2017 photo by Royce and Bobette Haley via BridgeHunter_railroad
Looking East - Hill to Hill Bridge in background

A view of the railroad bridge from the road bridge.

Street View, Oct 2014

The steel girder span on the left is part of the railroad bridge. This shows that the Hill-to-Hill Bridge is a closed spandrel concrete arch bridge over the river. There are trusses at each end because there used to be a lot of tracks in this town.

Street View, Jul 2024

HistoricBridges_railroad
"This classic railroad truss bridge sits in the shadow of the large Hill-To-Hill Bridge. The plate girder section was rebuilt in 1965 by Bethlehem Steel Company. It is not known if Bethlehem constructed the original through truss main spans as well, nor when those original spans date to."

"Significance: The Hill-to-Hill Bridge was the first bridge to join the boroughs of the City of Bethlehem with a high-level structure eliminating all railroad grade crossings. The structure, constructed almost entirely of reinforced concrete, owed its unusual shape to the eight access ramp structures that fed traffic to the Main Bridge avoiding numerous railroad tracks." [HAER_data]

This overview shows that much of the bridge is a viaduct over the flood plain to avoid city congestion. 

HAER PA,48-BETH,17--1
1. Overall view - Hill-to-Hill Bridge, Spans Lehigh River at State Route 378, Bethlehem, Northampton County, PA

This view shows part of the viaduct that goes all the way to the ancient riverbank.

Street View, Aug 2023

E. Miller, Jan 2024

Metrotrails posted
A view from the Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem Pennsylvania, with the rail bridge across the Lehigh River that connected the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Bethlehem Branch with the Central Railroad of New Jersey on the north side.
Metrotrails shared

ArchivedBridgeHunter_railroad indicates that the predecessor to NS was Reading. So, was Lehigh Valley a predecessor to Reading? The topo maps label the railroad south of the river as Lehigh Valley until it is labeled Conrail.

1957/60 Allentown Quad @ 62,500

Metrotrails posted

A view at one of the accesses to the Hill-to-Hill Bridge in Bethlehem Pennsylvania.

The current Hill to Hill Bridge was completed in 1924 to replace the aged covered bridge that was constantly in need of repairs. The new bridge is a symbol of the combining of the municipalities of Bethlehem and South Bethlehem to become the City of Bethlehem. Originally, Hill to Hill Bridge had about 11 points of access. Many were cut off with the development of Rt 378.

Bridges shared

1899-1986 Abandoned/Lehigh Valley/Easton & Northern over Lehigh River in Easton, PA

(Archived Bridge Hunter was broken; Bridge Hunter; Historic Bridges; HAER; Satellite)

HAER PA,48-EATO,13--5
5. OVERVIEW FROM SOUTH BANK OF LEHIGH RIVER. - Easton & Northern Railroad, Lehigh River Bridge, Spanning Lehigh River, Easton, Northampton County, PA

HistoricBridges
This 2,121' (646.5m) long bridge has a main span of 215' (66m). It has curved and skewed spans.

"Significance: This structure is significant for its highly complex geometry, with skew trusses carrying tracks on a reverse curve. It possesses a remarkable degree of integrity for a nineteenth-century steel truss bridge on a freight railroad." [HAER_data]

While checking out the curve and skew of the spans, I noticed a lock on the Lehigh Canal. It is Lock #47.

Satellite

Metrotrails posted

A scene along the Lehigh Canal at the bridge of the former Easton and Northern Railroad in Easton PA.

The Easton and Northern Bridge is a 2,121 foot behemoth of a bridge over the Lehigh River, with six main spans and 16 approach spans, combination pin-connected deck truss and through truss sections, as well as deck girder. The bridge was built in 1899 by the Athens Bridge Company of Athens Pennsylvania for the Easton and Northern, which stretched north around Easton, then up along the Bushkill Creek through Tatamy, Stockertown, and to Belfast Junction with connections to the Bangor and Portland (Lackawanna) and Lehigh and New England lines. The Easton and Northern Railroad had been established north of Easton earlier, and plans to extend south through the middle of Easton met opposition. A four mile "beltway" style rail line was decided upon and constructed in 1896-97, but stalled at the bridge. The line came under the control of the Lehigh Valley Railroad after completion, and provided access to the slate and concrete industries up that valley (although the Lackawanna Railroad had control of the line for a short time from 1903-04).

The bridge drew national interest for its complex geometry.

The Easton and Northern was taken out of service in 1986. There were plans to make the long bridge into a trail, and a former councilman confirmed that there were dedicated funds, but nothing has happened yet. The majority of the line is now trail from a point a bit north of the bridge to Tatamy, and another bit through Stockertown. A slice of the line remains in place north of Tatamy to Stockertown.

To the right is part of the vault associated with the canal at lock 47 ahead, and outlet lock to the right. original locks 48 and 49 were buried during expansion of the Lehigh Valley Railroad,and replaced with the larger unnumbered outlet lock.

HAER_data

Lehigh Valley Railroad Overview

The Lehigh Valley was chartered in 1846 to serve anthracite coal mines. It grew into a major carrier between Jersey City, NJ, and Buffalo, NY. It grew in bits and pieces until it reached Geneva, NY. Then they built their own line from Geneva to Buffalo, which opened in 1892. They built a major division point facility in Manchester, NY. "Once recognized as the largest yard in the world, it employed over 1,000 people during its peak of operations." [lvrrhs]

This source says the LV reached Buffalo in 1882.

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