Chesapeake City Bridge

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.

Chesapeake City Bridge
Coordinates39.529053°N 75.813920°W / 39.529053; -75.813920
Carries2 lanes of MD 213
CrossesChesapeake & Delaware Canal
LocaleChesapeake City, Maryland
Maintained byU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Characteristics
Designtied arch bridge
Total length(?)
Width(?)
History
Opened1949
Statistics
Daily traffic14,350
Location

Vertical lift span

The Chesapeake City vertical lift span was constructed between 1924 and 1928. The bridge carried U.S. 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. U.S. Route 213 was diverted to the new bridge, while the surface streets leading to the former bridge site were resigned as Maryland Route 537. 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.

See also

Further reading
  • The Day the Ship Knocked the Bridge Down: Where Were You? by Robert Hazel, Rare Harmony Publishing.


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