Name: Reading Suspension Bridge (view items)
Industry type: Transportation
Industry: Highway
Country: United States
State/County/Province: Pennsylvania
City: Reading
Start year: 1886
End year: 1983
Company: John A. Roebling and Sons Company
Notes: This pedestrian suspension bridge was built by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad to provide access from the east to their Reading terminal without obstructing the layout of the trackyard. The bridge was designed by William Hildenbrand in Oct. 1886 and completed in 1887. The bridge was closed by Reading Company in 1964 with the approaches removed in 1967. The American Society of Civil Engineers made an assessment for preservation in early 1983, but Conrail unexpectedly demolished the bridge later that year. One tower of the bridge was reassembled in a county park and designated a state civil engineering landmark. The bridge had a span 275 feet long between towers.
HAER No. PA-120
http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/pa/pa1700/pa1782/data/pa1782.pdf