I snapped a photo while sitting traffic admiring the workmanship of the old stone arch bridges still in use around my area. They really are works of art as well as their practical use in holding up roads and train tracks. I guess the graffiti artists like them too unfortunately.
I was noticing the beautiful stone arch and the contrast with the adjacent steel bridge. It got me thinking about the lost art of building stone structures. I’m sure time and money are the main reasons to move on to steel structures.
It really is amazing to think of how the past generations built these arches and they’ve stood up to weather, weight, and use all these years. Look at the stone under the arch – perfect in the design, and they stay put – no dropping on to cars and people.
Here’s another stone arch bridge in the area, built in 1892, still in use today. This photo is from the Downingtownhistory.org
I was curious and did a little research on stone arch bridges. “The majority of the existing masonry bridges are concentrated in the northeastern part of the country where European settlers …first arrived….. The advance of alternative materials, such as iron, steel, and reinforced concrete, made stone obsolete.” – Structuremagazine.org
“Still, engineers had a preference for stone when performance and durability were more important than cost and efficiency. Masonry arches were the primary choice for railroad bridges well into the early twentieth century, where the need to carry heavy train loads was met by the excellent structural capacity of the stone arch.” – Structuremagazine.org Most of the stone arch bridges in Pennsylvania are the railroad bridges.
These bridges are inspiring! I love their artistic and practical beauty. Many local artist have painted this bridges. Perhaps one day I will too. 🙂