Chestnut Street Bridge (Philadelphia)

Coordinates: 39°57′11″N 75°10′52″W / 39.95306°N 75.18111°W

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Chestnut Street Bridge
Chestnut Street Bridge across the Schuylkill River, looking east, in 2017
Coordinates	39°57′11″N 75°10′52″W / 39.95306°N 75.18111°W / 39.95306; -75.18111
Carries	Chestnut Street
Crosses	Schuylkill River Schuylkill Expressway
ID number	670003009022930^{[permanent dead link‍]}
Characteristics
Design	Steel continuous, Girder and Floorbeam System
Total length	113.1 metres (371 ft)
Width	13.5 metres (44 ft) (roadway)
Load limit	65.7 t (72.4 short tons)
Clearance below	8.2 metres (27 ft)
History
Opened	1957
Statistics
Daily traffic	16109 (2006)
Location

The Chestnut Street Bridge is a bridge across the Schuylkill River that carries Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The original 1861 bridge was "a bridge whose scale and use of cast iron made it singular in the United States and throughout the world".^[1] The 1957 bridge, now one way, helps connect West Philadelphia with the rest of the city.

History

Construction of the first Chestnut Street Bridge, designed by Strickland Kneass,^[2] started on 4 September 1861.^[3]^[4] That bridge cost $500,000, was 1,528 feet (466 m) long, and was constructed of cast iron, with approaches and piers of granite.^[3] When the bridge formally opened on 23 June 1866,^[5] it was the second connection between Center City, Philadelphia and West Philadelphia, after the Market Street Bridge.^[2]

In 1957, to make way for the Schuylkill Expressway, the western pier of the bridge was removed, and the main spans of the bridge were replaced.^[1]

In 2011, a weight restriction was placed on it due to its age.

In August 2019, the bridge was closed to vehicles and pedestrians for one year to repair the steel superstructure and replace the deck, but has been extended due to COVID-19 until March 19, 2022.^[6]^[7]

Chestnut Street Bridge 1869
Stereo image pair of the Chestnut Street Bridge c. 1865-1907

In film

In the 2007 film Shooter, FBI agent Nick Memphis (played by Michael Peña) is abducted while walking across the Chestnut Street Bridge.
One episode of Hack was filmed on the bridge.^[8]