Bridges
Updated - 02/27/2021
The term "bridges" is used expansively on this web page and includes a variety of structures to include vehicular traffic bridges, railroad bridges and underpasses/overpasses. This section will not include pedestrian bridges or foot bridges. A list of any such qualifying bridges is featured below along with a sampling of pictures of those structures. And for those of you who might not be sure, the answer is "No, the picture on the left is not a bridge found in the Auburn area".
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The earliest known bridge to have spanned the Schuylkill River east of Auburn, PA was a wooden covered bridge (pictured here). The bridge was eventually replaced by a concrete structure spanning the river adjacent to the wooden bridge. Neither of these bridges are still in existence, having been replaced by yet a third bridge in the same area.
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Another of the earliest bridges remains somewhat of a mystery. This bridge is a smaller open wooden bridge located between the early covered bridge spanning the Schuylkill River east of Auburn and the railroad underpass located on the eastern edge of Auburn. The date of the photo in which it is pictured is undetermined but would have been taken prior to 1924 when the covered bridge was replaced by its concrete successor. The bridge is too small in size to have spanned the Schuylkill River and, by appearances, seems to be situated parallel to the riverbed. However, based on early maps depicting the Schuylkill Canal, it appears the bridge is situated too far east to be spanning the canal path. A possible clue is what appears to be a geographical anomaly found on the old railroad "blue-print" style map depicted hear but the nature of that anomaly is unclear. If anyone has definitive information which might help identify the vintage, nature or purpose of this bridge, please contact the AAHS via our contact page of this website so we might update our records pertaining to this structure.
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The second bridge spanning the Schuylkill River due east of Auburn was a solid concrete structure built in 1924. While this bridge served the town and countless commuters admirably, decades of use and damage caused by flooding compromised the integrity of the structure until it was finally deemed unsafe and in need of replacement by 2012. The fact the bridge had stood for almost a century speaks favorably of the quality of its construction originally.
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The third bridge spanning the Schuylkill River due east of Auburn is a modern construction which is a vast improvement on the prior 90 year old span. This bridge is wider and was designed for both vehicular traffic and for pedestrians to safely cross the river.
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The State Road Bridge is located southeast of the town of Auburn and can still be seen by simply driving south on Bear Creek Street. Built in 1903 and refurbished as recently as 1978, the bridge was closed for vehicular traffic many years ago. Ironically, the bridge appears to be far more structurally sound than the concrete bridge which spanned the Schuylkill River just east of Auburn as recently as 2012.
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The "underpass" is a concrete railroad bridge which spans what is now known as Route 895. The Reading Railroad uses this structure for its locomotives to cross over the highway. In 1967, the state closed the underpass briefly while it lowered the road surface to allow larger vehicles to pass beneath it. Although still in use, the underpass is beginning to show obvious signs of deterioration.
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The Schuylkill and Susquehanna (or "S & S") Railroad trestle bridge once spanned Front Street in Auburn, PA at the just south of the present Auburn Ambulance building. After the S & S no longer serviced Auburn, the (Philadelphia &) Reading Railway Company assumed ownership of the trestle. A letter from the railway to Auburn Borough Clerk C. A. Ritter dated 1912 mentions a proposal to spend "$330.00 to take off water" collecting at the trestles under the bridge. Once the Reading railroad company no longer served the town of Auburn, the trestle bridge was demolished and removed. Traces of the bulwarks where the bridge once spanned the road can still be detected upon close examination.
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The Schuylkill and Susquehanna (or "S & S") Railroad once had tracks running from the southwest corner of town where the Auburn Shale Brick Company plant was located, across the southern portion of town and ending on the eastern side of town. An iron framework bridge located on Third Street just south of Washington Street once spanned the gully in which the tracks were laid. Children would stand or sit on the bridge rails as the train passed beneath them even though their parents wouldn't have approved of the dangerous behavior. The bridge was removed in the mid-1980s and that portion of the gully was filled in order that a roadway could be installed there instead.
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The Pennsylvania or "Pennsy" Railroad has an iron grid-work bridge spanning over top of the tracks belonging to the Reading Railroad. Although this structure is a formidable bridge, the years of exposure to the elements have left it rusting and in deteriorating condition.
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The Reading Railroad Bridge spanning the Schuylkill River southeast of Auburn, PA is located due east of the Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge spanning over top of the Reading Railroad tracks. This concrete structure is slowly deteriorating and in need of repair.
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A small iron grid-work bridge once spanned the Bear Creek due west of Auburn, Pennsylvania on Woodland Drive. Deemed unsafe, the bridge was eventually removed which closed this road for an extended period. A modern bridge has since been erected in its place.
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An iron bridge also spans the Bear Creek in the southeast quadrant of Auburn, PA. The bridge, officially named Schuylkill County Bridge #93, was constructed in 1961 by W. Joseph Nagle, Inc. The road across the structure is part of the appropriately named Bear Creek Street.
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A rustic bridge located west of Auburn adjacent to Route 895 is referred to as the "Rich Bridge". This bridge spans Bear Creek and provides access to privately owned property. The bridge was constructed of rough-cut red oak timbers using traditional joinery and was built by the Vermont Timber Works company.
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A final bridge for which no known picture exists is a mere "foot bridge" spanning the canal near Auburn. Although normally we wouldn't include such smaller structures amongst those listed here, this one is included since it spanned a major waterway (the canal). A passage in the Reading Eagle circa 1896 read "This path leads from the river bridge across the low-land to the canal, thence down the towpath to the locks, where there is a foot bridge across."
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