Bushkill Street Bridge construction (Easton-Phillipsburg) 1936-37 - Reel 1

This video content is provided courtesy of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC), owners of the original 16mm film footage. This content 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 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 discovered and converted to a digitized video format. This footage shows various aspects of the Great Depression-era construction of the Bushkill Street Bridge between Easton, PA. and Phillipsburg, N.J. The bridge was renamed the Easton-Phillipsburg Toll Bridge after a “super-highway” Route 22 approach was constructed through Easton in the 1950s. This reel of bridge construction work appears to have been filmed in late 1936 and early 1937. The bridge opened to traffic January 14, 1938. Contents include: • Abutment construction to support the eventual steel-truss superstructure • Glimpses of Pennsylvania Railroad’s Belvidere Division tracks • Temporary tracks installed to support the bridge contractor’s heavy equipment • Closeups of water infiltration, workers, wooden forms, and motorized belt-driven equipment