The bridge was the longest multi-span concrete arch bridge in the world when built, and even today it at the very least remains among the longest examples. In addition to its jaw-dropping 28 arch spans each spanning an impressive feet, an additional 20 approach spans mostly curved t-beams complete the bridge which is over a mile long in total length. Also, with a 48 foot wide out-to-out deck width containing a 38 foot roadway, this is also a fairly wide bridge for its age as well.
The length of the bridge coupled with its width results in a bridge with a footprint of about eight acres! Aside from its size, the bridge is significant in other areas. Innovative methods were developed to construct this extraordinarily long bridge in both a short period of time and in a financially reasonable way.
The bridge is located at a historic crossing and is the fifth crossing at the location. A sixth generation crossing carries US traffic just north of the historic bridge, with the historic bridge continuing to carry a significant volume of local traffic between Columbia and Wrightsville.
The historic Columbia - Wrightsville Bridge is also noteworthy for its very ornate design. The arches of the bridge have numerous decorative shapes and details incorporated into them, as do the railings on the bridge. There are also decorative light fixtures and even and electrical access panels for the lighting on the bridge are decoratively designed and appear to be made of bronze.
The attention to detail is impressive There are even attractive curved benches that are concrete and are built right into the railing at the end of the bridge. The bridge demonstrates a great attention made to producing a bridge that is truly beautiful and architecturally sensible, a stark contrast to modern bridges built today.
Indeed the simple and unadorned US bridge visible just to the north of the historic bridge provides a good comparison. The bridge's historic significance appears to have been recognized. The historic integrity of the bridge is excellent with surprisingly few alterations noted despite the size of the bridge and the volume of traffic it carries today, and likely has also carried in the past.
The bridge appears to be well-maintained, enough so that it could be said that there appears to be a long-term preservation commitment to this bridge on the part of PennDOT, which is excellent to see. The bridge has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the east end of the bridge ends up in the Columbia National Historic District.
Very few historic bridges are able to achieve this recognition. On the afternoon of June 28th , General John B. Gordon accompanied by Major General Jubal Early, marched the Confederate army through the small town of Wrightsville in an attempt to take the bridge.
Frick had taken command of the Pennsylvania Militia and dug in at Wrightsville with 1, militiamen to defend the bridge. Upon the arrival of Gordon and his Confederate Army, Frick quickly realized that his small batch of militiamen would not be able to hold off a full Confederate assault.
Frick ordered his men back across the bridge to the Eastern Shore and Columbia in an attempt to detonate charges along the wooden bridge, rendering it uncrossable.
The charges failed to destroy the bridge, so the Colonel ordered his men to light the bridge ablaze and burn it to the bottom of the river. The bridge, mainly constructed of oak wood went up in flames producing a tower of smoke which Confederate soldiers say was visible as far as Hanover, nearly 25 miles away. The halt of the Confederate advance across the river had been a great victory for the Union.
By preventing the Southern troops from crossing the river, they North had bought some time for General Meade and his Army of the Potomac to march North and confront the Rebels at Gettysburg. The lasting battle and series of events would eventually lead to a Union victory in the war, a lasting impact felt from the Northern defense of the Columbia-Wrightsville bridge.
A third bridge was constructed after the war in ; this time the operation was undertaken by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company. Built mainly with stone, wood, and steel, the third bridge was eventually taken down by the Cedar Keys Hurricane, which would pave way for the modern architectural feat that stands today.
Construction on the fourth bridge began in and took only twenty-one days; considered the fastest bridge building job in the world at the time. Consisting of twenty-eight steel arches, each feet long, the Columbia-Wrightsville bridge is believed to be the longest concrete arch bridge in the world.
The bridge was designed to be resistant to ice, fire, water and all the things which had taken down the bridge in the past. Pennsylvania militiamen from Columbia, on the Lancaster County side of the river, vowed to block the Confederate advance.
Union troops retreating from York joined them, as did a company of African American militiamen, the first Black troops from Camp William Penn. In all, they mustered fewer than 1, men. When Confederate Brigadier General John Brown Gordon arrived on June 28 with approximately 1, troops, the Federals were waiting in their entrenchments.
The Rebels opened up with artillery fire, and the Union position rapidly became untenable. Regional Offices. Submit Concern. Project Overview Project Description. Project Contact Project Contacts. Project Statistics Project Statistics. Detour Information Detour Information. See Resources.
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