Benjamin Franklin Bridge

The Benjamin Franklin Bridge was dedicated by the Commissioners of the Delaware River Port Authority to the memory of Benjamin Franklin, honored as a great patriot, scientist, and statesman. The Delaware River Bridge Joint Commission, authorized by acts of the New Jersey legislature on April 8, 1919, and the Pennsylvania Legislature on July 9, 1919, built the bridge over the Delaware River between Philadelphia and Camden, with construction costs shared by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of New Jersey, and the City of Philadelphia. The commission was organized on December 12, 1919, construction began on January 6, 1922, and the bridge opened with ceremonies on July 1, 1926. Jointly constructed from 1919 to 1926 by Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, the bridge had a total length of 9,650 feet, a main span of 1,750 feet, a width of 128 feet, a roadway width of 57 feet, towers 380 feet high, and a clearance of 135 feet above mean high water. Its cables were 30 inches in diameter with 18,666 wires in each cable, had an ultimate strength of 125,000 tons, and supported a main span weighing 26,000 pounds per linear foot with a live load capacity of 12,000 pounds per linear foot. The steel work included 10,000 tons in the towers, 7,350 tons in cables and suspenders, 18,500 tons in suspended spans, 6,000 tons in anchorages, and 25,800 tons in approaches. Masonry measured 60,000 cubic yards in the main piers, 216,000 cubic yards in the anchorages, and 42,000 cubic yards in the approaches, for a total bridge weight of 720,000 tons, and the deepest foundation extended 105 feet below mean high water.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · United States