Safe Harbor Bridge

Safe Harbor Bridge
Coordinates	39°55′31″N 76°23′03″W
Carries	Rail
Crosses	Conestoga River
Locale	Conestoga Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
Owner	Norfolk Southern Railway
Characteristics
Design	Lower: Deck girder. Upper: Pratt truss.
Material	Steel
Total length	Lower: 295 feet (90 m). Upper: 300 feet (91 m).
Height	55 feet (17 m); 92 feet (28 m) (between lower & upper bridge)
History
Designer	William H. Brown (PRR)
Constructed by	H.S. Kerbaugh, Inc.
Fabrication by	Pennsylvania Steel Company
Construction end	1905
Opened	1906
Rebuilt	1930
Location

The Safe Harbor Bridge also known as the Safe Harbor Trestle, Port Road Bridge and the Enola Low Grade Line (A&S Railroad) Steel Trestle is a steel deck truss trestle that spans the Conestoga River at Safe Harbor, Pennsylvania near the Susquehanna River for the Port Road Branch and the former Columbia and Port Deposit Railroad along the Susquehanna River.

History and notable features

This bridge was built in 1905 for the Atglen and Susquehanna Branch (A&S), also known as the "Low Grade Branch", of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR).^[1]

There is one more bridge at this site, the Safe Harbor Dam access road bridge. The lower span was raised 4 feet (1.2 m) in 1930, concurrent with the construction of the Safe Harbor Dam. In 1976 the PRR lines became part of Conrail, which abandoned the A&S branch in 1989. The tracks were removed from the upper bridge in 1990.^[1] The upper portion has been repurposed to serve as part of the Enola Low Grade Trail.

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Pennsylvania
• List of crossings of the Conestoga River

References

1. Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. PA-531, "Pennsylvania Railroad, Safe Harbor Bridge, Spanning mouth of Conestoga River, Safe Harbor, Lancaster, PA", 11 photos, 5 data pages, 1 photo caption page

External links

• Bridge photos
• Trestle Construction*Safe Harbor Trestle Bridge on Flickr - by Veender
• Atglen & Susquehanna Branch