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Northampton Street Bridge | |
|---|---|
 Northampton Street Bridge between Easton, Pennsylvania and Phillipsburg, New Jersey | |
| Coordinates | 40°41′30″N 75°12′14″W / 40.691545°N 75.204004°W |
| Carries | 3 lanes of Northampton Street and 2 sidewalks |
| Crosses | Delaware River |
| Locale | Easton, Pennsylvania, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey |
| Official name | Northampton Street Toll Supported Bridge |
| Other name(s) | The Free Bridge Easton-Phillipsburg Bridge |
| Maintained by | Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 560 feet (170 m) |
| Load limit | 3 short tons (2.7 t) |
| History | |
| Designer | James Madison Porter III |
| Opened | 1896 |
| Replaces | Ferry (1739–1806) Covered bridge (1806–1896) |
| Location | |
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The Northampton Street Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Delaware River, connecting Easton, Pennsylvania, and Phillipsburg, New Jersey, United States. It is maintained by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission despite not being a toll bridge. It is known locally as the "Free Bridge" thus distinguishing it from the Easton–Phillipsburg Toll Bridge just upstream to the north. The crossing was first a ferry crossing run by David Martin, beginning in 1739.
The original wooden bridge opened on October 14, 1806. The original bridge was designed and built by Timothy Palmer, one of the most famous bridge builders of his time. Palmer's covered bridge at Easton endured many floods and storms while other bridges fell. However, by the late nineteenth century, when horse-drawn streetcars were replaced by trolley cars, the old wooden bridge could no longer handle the demands of traffic and a new structure was erected in 1895. The new bridge was designed by James Madison Porter III, an alumnus of nearby Lafayette College and later a professor of civil engineering there. Porter hailed from a family long prominent in Easton and Pennsylvania history.
Tolls were charged until 1921, when the DRJTBC bought it from the Delaware Bridge Company.[1]
The bridge is currently posted for a 3-short-ton (2.7 t) weight limit and a 15-mile-per-hour (24 km/h) speed limit. Noted as "combining aesthetics with economical design", the bridge was designated a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers and commemorated in 1995.[2]
- ^ Lance Metz, Northampton Street Bridge Took Hit In '55 Hurricane, The Morning Call, October 17, 1993
- ^ "Northampton Street Bridge". American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrieved January 26, 2022.