Frankford Avenue Bridge Rehabilitation

The Frankford Avenue Bridge, built in 1697, is the oldest continuously-used roadway bridge in the United States. It is a stone masonry arch bridge over Pennypack Creek in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bridge was in poor condition and had been subjected to a vehicular impact, which knocked over a large section of the masonry parapet. The rehabilitation program sensitively addressed the bridge’s structural deficiencies while providing a long-term, minimum maintenance structure that simultaneously preserved the historic integrity of the bridge. The project has enabled this 321-year-old structure to continue to serve modern day traffic and stand as an engineering marvel.