The Benjamin Franklin Bridge, originally named the Delaware River Bridge and known locally as the Ben Franklin Bridge, is a suspension bridge across the Delaware River connecting Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Camden, New Jersey. Owned and operated by the Delaware River Port Authority, it is one of four primary vehicular bridges between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey, along with the Betsy Ross, Walt Whitman, and Commodore Barry bridges. It carries Interstate 676/U.S. Route 30, pedestrians, and the PATCO Speedline.


The bridge was dedicated as part of the 1926 Sesquicentennial Exposition, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence. From 1926 to 1929, it had the longest single span of any suspension bridge in the world.

History

Plans for a bridge to augment the ferries across the Delaware River began as early as 1818, when one plan envisioned using Smith/Windmill Island, a narrow island off the Philadelphia shore. But it was only in the 1910s that visions began to approach reality. The Delaware River Bridge Joint Commission (now the Delaware River Port Authority) was created in 1919.

The chief engineer of the bridge was Polish-born Ralph Modjeski, the design engineer was Leon Moisseiff, the supervising architect was Paul Philippe Cret, and the construction engineer was Montgomery B. Case.[3] Work began on January 6, 1922. At the peak of construction, 1,300 people worked on the bridge, and 15 died during its construction.[4] The bridge was originally painted by a commercial painting company owned by David A. Salkind, of Philadelphia, which also painted the Golden Gate Bridge.[5] The bridge opened to traffic on July 1, 1926, three days ahead of its scheduled opening on the nation’s 150th anniversary. At completion, its 1,750-foot (533-meter) span was the world's longest for a suspension bridge, a distinction it held until the opening of the Ambassador Bridge in 1929.

The name was changed to "Benjamin Franklin Bridge" in 1955, as a second Delaware River suspension bridge connecting Philadelphia and New Jersey was under construction (Walt Whitman Bridge).

The bridge was closed to vehicles on July 1, 2001, to allow pedestrians to celebrate its 75th anniversary.




Walking Tour Philadelphia Benjamin Franklin Bridge Experience | Philadelphia to Camden (Narrated)




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