1933 Upper Black Eddy-Milford Demolition, Construction and August 25 Flooding Footage (Silent)

This video content is provided courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC), owners of the original 16mm film footage from which it was digitized. This film footage is provided to the public for historical and educational purposes. Any sale, reproduction or other use of this video footage and images without the DRJTBC’s written consent is prohibited. The ensuing reel of film footage was stored for five or more decades in an engineering department file room at the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s former administration building in Morrisville, PA. The footage was taken on a variety of dates during the summer 1933 at the location of Upper Black Eddy—Milford Bridge. The film footage predates the creation of the DRJTBC. It’s unknown who shot the film footage and how it came into the DRJTBC’s possession. In 1933 and 1934, the bridge crossing was jointly owned by the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The bridge construction was performed by the former McClintic-Marshall Co. of Bethlehem, Pa. The firm was hired under a $89,970 low-bid contract awarded by the former Joint Commission for Elimination of Toll Bridges – Pennsylvania-New Jersey, the DRJTBC’s predecessor agency. The states gave the former Joint Commission equal shares of tax proceeds to build the new bridge. The completed steel-truss Upper Black Eddy-Milford Bridge opened to traffic during a rainstorm at noon January 13, 1934. Any remaining work, such as painting, was completed later in 1934. Work on this reel includes: Dismantling of last span of form wooden covered bridge; Mixing, testing and placement of concrete for a reconstructed bridge abutment; Lifting and fastening of steel bridge members; Rising river waters and resulting damage from a minor flood on August 25, 1933. (The flooding set the project schedule back by a month.)