Wright's Ferry Bridge
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US 30Wright's Ferry Bridge | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Coordinates | 40°02′10″N 76°31′23″W / 40.036°N 76.523°W |
| Carries | US 30 |
| Crosses | Susquehanna River |
| Locale | Wrightsville, Pennsylvania and Columbia, Pennsylvania |
| Other name(s) | Susquhanna River Bridge, Route 30 Bridge, Route 30 Intercounty Bridge |
| Maintained by | PennDOT |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | reinforced concrete and steel; divided four-lane highway |
| Longest span | 22 equal sections approximately 500ft long on two spans (11 each direction) on 45 piers |
| History | |
| Opened | November 21, 1972 |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | none |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Wright's Ferry Bridge | |
The Wright's Ferry Bridge carries U.S. Route 30 (US 30) over the Susquehanna River between Columbia and Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. The "Wright's Ferry" in its name commemorates the first ferry across the Susquehanna River.
This bridge is considered the sixth Columbia–Wrightsville Bridge; it complements the fifth one, which still carries Lincoln Highway traffic.[notes 1]
Also known informally and locally as the Route 30 bridge, it was commissioned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during the 1960s to relocate US 30 and bypass the river towns of Wrightsville and Columbia. Construction began in March 1969; G.A. & F.C. Wagman, Inc. was the general contractor used for the project.
The bridge was completed in 1972 at a cost of $12 million and opened November 21, 1972 under its present commemorative historical name, with Wright's Ferry being both the historic ferry's and one of Columbia's former names.
It was built using reinforced concrete and steel and has forty-six equal sections that are supported by forty-five piers. US 30 crosses it as a divided four-lane roadway.
Approximately a year after its opening, the bridge was shut down briefly so that an experimental weather-resistant coating could be applied to its roadway. Tolls were never collected on this bridge, the sixth to have crossed the river in this general location.
