Tacony-Palmyra+Bridge--Effect+on+Philadelphia


 * [[image:2406211375_1b61507b8c.jpg width="300" height="222" align="right" caption="Photo courtesy of flickr.com"]]Growing Demand **

After World War I, automobile traffic in and around the city of Philadelphia increased dramatically. This meant that bigger and better roadways, in addition to more crossings over the Delaware River would need to be built. The main problem for Tacony residents in Northeast Philadelphia, as well as Burlington County residents in New Jersey who wanted to cross the Delaware was that the nearest means were ferries, 10 miles to the south, near the current site of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, and 10 miles to the north, near the current site of the Burlington-Bristol Bridge. To satisfy this demand, Charles A. Wright and Edward G. Borer formed the Tacony-Palmyra Ferry Company which began operations crossing the Delaware on May 6th, 1922. The owners spent nearing $200,000 on the necessary docks and 2 ferries, the “Tacony” and “Palmyra” to shuttle pedestrians and automobiles across the river. (Silcox and McCarthy) The site for the docks was well situated, only a few blocks from the elevated Market-Frankford trolley line as well as the Pennsylvania Railroad. The ferry service benefitted cars leaving Philadelphia on their way to the New Jersey Shore, as well as South Jersey farmers who could use the ferries to sell their produce in the Tacony, Frankford, and Germantown sections of Philadelphia. Because of the success of the ferry and the benefits it brought to the region, the Tacony-Palmyra Ferry Company was able to force local officials to make improvements to the streets leading to the docks, in order to accommodate for the increase in traffic.

As you can see the motivation to build a bridge connecting Tacony with Burlington County was not born over night. The increase in demand for methods to cross the Delaware after World War I sparked Charles A. Wright to found the Tacony-Palmyra Ferry Company. The success of his company, in addition to the success of the construction of the Delaware River Bridge in July of 1926 by Rudolph Modjeski and Paul Cret, helped to set the stage for the building of a 2nd bridge crossing the Delaware River; The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge


 * The Push to Build **

Many factors came together to help influence the start of construction on the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. A few years earlier in 1924, the Delaware River Bridge, currently known as the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, began construction and was completed successfully in 1926. Ralph Modjeski and his consulting architect Paul Cret were responsible for the design and building. Charles A. Wright had always had the desire to build a bridge connecting the Tacony neighborhood with Burlington County. Only a mere month after construction was completed on the Delaware River Bridge, Wright formed the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge Company. Also, the Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce recommended construction of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, largely in part because many of its members were being personally inconvenienced by delays associated with the construction of the Delaware River Bridge. (Iatarola) Under influence from Wright and his newly formed company, the New Jersey State Legislature passed legislation under the New Jersey Act of 1925 to provide funding and resources for the building of additional bridges across the Delaware River. Furthermore, the bridge building movement gained momentum when on January 26th, 1927; President Calvin Coolidge signed legislation which approved construction of the crossing. The bridge got its final approval almost a full year later when the Army Corps of Engineers approved the final design plans created by Modjeski and Cret on December 31st, 1927.


 * The Builder and His Vision **

Ralph Modjeski was a highly successful and decorated civil engineer from Poland who graduated with honors at Paris’s College of Bridges and Highways. He continued his education at the University of Illinois where, in 1911, he received his civil engineering degree. For more than a decade he worked as the Chief Engineer on high-profile bridges across the United States. In 1924 he joined with Frank Masters and opened the consulting firm of //Modjeski and Masters//. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia) When Charles A. Wright formed the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge Company in 1926, he did so largely due to the success of the recently, Modjeski constructed Delaware River Bridge, in addition to support by the State of New Jersey to assist with such a bridge. When the state of New Jersey and the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge Company met to discuss possible candidates to design and build their bridge over the Delaware, Modjeski’s firm was the clear choice, largely due to his previous success earlier in 1926 with the Delaware River Bridge. Modjeski was selected and soon began studying and creating plans for the bridge along with his consulting architect from the Delaware River Bridge project, Paul Cret.

Although the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge was not one of Modjeski’s typical large scale suspension bridges, for which he is well known, his 1929 creation was a steel arch and bascule over 3,600 feet in length spanning over the Delaware River. The design included 8 separate spans, while the 2 most visible were a 523 foot-long steel arch span accompanied by a 232 foot-long continuous steel truss span. (Burlington County Bridge Commission) Modjeski and Cret set out to design a bridge that would be able to handle increased traffic over the Delaware in the coming decades. Modjeski’s initial design allowed for a roadway that was nearly 40 feet wide. This allowed for 4 lanes of traffic, 2 going in each direction. By this decision, it is clear that Modjeski and Cret were taking into account a large increase in automotive traffic, largely due to an expected increase in population in the area. (Glomb) The initial plans for the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge laid out by Charles A. Wright set the financial break-even point for the company at 1.5 million cars per year, or roughly 85 cars per hour, in each direction, in a single lane configuration. At those rates, a single lane configuration would have been sufficient to handle the current traffic; however, the bridge might have become overcrowded within the next five years. In its first full year of operation the newest crossing over the Delaware provided a means for nearly 1.2 million cars. This number more than doubled within the next five years, turning a hefty profit for Wright and his company and taking full advantage of all 4 lanes of Modjeski’s design. (Burlington County Bridge Commission) Modjeski’s vision for his creation can be seen through his comments to a reporter during 1930 when he said, referring to the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, “I feel strongly that with proper maintenance, it should last 100 years." (Glomb)  It is clear that Modjeski felt strongly that his 4 lane design and solid construction would be able to accommodate future traffic rates for the next century, provided that maintenance was done.
 * Northeast Philadelphia and Burlington County Post-Construction **

The construction of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge did not merely provide an easier means of transportation for people and cars across the Delaware River; it was partly responsible for the residential development of the northeast section of Philadelphia as well as Burlington County, New Jersey. The $4.1 million worth of funding, resources, and time required to build the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge was all signed off on by Philadelphia and New Jersey elected officials. (Burlington County Bridge Commission) These officials would have never approved such large sums of money, or utilized so many resources in the construction of the bridge if it had only been to ease traffic issues. Instead, each government saw an underdeveloped area and realized the wealth of benefits that would come from the building of the bridge. This mindset can be seen through the comments of a few elected officials who gave speeches during the dedication ceremony on the morning of August 14th, 1929. During his speech, Mayor Harry Mackey of Philadelphia said, "This new bridge is one that fits into the coordinated plan of development of the great territory in this section on both sides of the river." To build on Mackey’s prior comments, New Jersey Governor Larson followed by saying during his speech that, "We have come here today to further transportation between two great states...Thus there will be a greater development of the two states so joined, I predict." Following in line with the first two, Lieutenant Governor James of Pennsylvania continued with, “I believe the future will see this bridge as one of the most important stages of the present day. It is through better communication that we get in touch with our neighbors and to prosper by the interchange of our products." (Silcox and McCarthy)  The comments from the elected officials present at the dedication ceremony fall right in line with the financial numbers. Within the same year of the bridge’s opening more than $18 million was being invested in the area by private investors as well as government agencies. This investment was mostly on the Philadelphia side of the Delaware, with much of the money being spent on single family row style homes.

The residential growth was so dramatic in and around Tacony that when plans for the construction of I-95 were being discussed during the 1940’s, a connection with the bridge was denied because officials felt that by-passing Tacony would stifle the area’s booming development. By not directly connecting the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge with I-95 it allowed for local businesses to continue to prosper and for continued residential growth in the western portions of northeast Philadelphia. This residential growth continued well into the 1960’s, nearly three decades after the construction of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.  With all of this population growth came a large increase in traffic over the bridge each day. In its first year, the Tacony-Palmyra bridge saw an average 3,500 cars per day. (Iatarola) Within five years that number had doubled. All of those extra cars being deposited into the streets of Tacony each day required that roads in and around the base of the bridge be built up to meet demand. A solid connection to Cottman Avenue and therefore the rest of the Philadelphia neighborhoods to the north was constructed. In addition, an indirect connection was made available through the use of Bridge Street to connect with the later built I-95. 

The impact of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge on its surrounding area can also been seen through the comments of local historian Harry Silcox.

//The significance of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge was that it, along with the Roosevelt Boulevard and the Market Street elevated train to Frankford, opened up the Northeast for settlement on a large scale. The transition was final and clear; no longer would Tacony be considered a community separate from Philadelphia. It was part of the city. (Silcox and McCarthy) //

The Roosevelt Boulevard was initially proposed in 1903 by the current Mayor at the time, Samuel Ashbridge, as part of the //City Beautiful// movement. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia) Although helping to make the city beautiful, the boulevard also served to directly connect the northeast suburbs with center city Philadelphia. By 1926, the route had been substantially developed to the north, well into northeast Philadelphia. Keeping in line with improving transportation to and from northeast Philadelphia, the Market-Frankford Elevated Train Line went fully operational on November 5th, 1922. (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia) This route allowed passengers to travel all the way from west Philadelphia down to the water front and South Street and then all the way up to Frankford Avenue in northeast Philadelphia. The influx of foot traffic that the Market-Frankford Line could bring to northeast Philadelphia, in addition to the automobile traffic accommodated by both the Roosevelt Boulevard and Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, all combined to make northeast Philadelphia feel a lot closer to center city than it had in previous years.
 * Tacony Today – 21st Century **

The construction of the bridge did not merely provide an easier means of transportation for people and cars across the Delaware River; it was partly responsible for the population growth of the northeast section of Philadelphia as well as Burlington County, New Jersey. Throughout the last century northeast Philadelphia has adopted the attribute of the rest of the city of being a “town of neighborhoods”. (Iatarola) This is largely due to sections of Philadelphia like Tacony, Castor Gardens, Oxford Circle, Wissinoming, and Holmesburg being made up of tens of thousands of tightly spaced row style homes, geographically helping generations to stay closer to each other. The bridge has clearly had an influence on the local community. Two local organizations, Palmyra Borough and Tacony Civic, both utilize arches from the bridge in their respective logos. Along with the development of Roosevelt Boulevard and the Market-Frankford Line, the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge helped to shape northeast Philadelphia into what it is today, a town of neighborhoods.


 * Bibliography **

Burlington County Bridge Commission. __Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.__ 19 January 2007. 23 February 2009 . Glomb, Jozef. __A Man Who Spanned Two Eras: The Story of Bridge Engineer Ralph Modjeski.__ Philadelphia: Kosciuszko Foundation, 2002. Iatarola, Louis M. "The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge." 14 August 2004. __Tacony Historical Society.__ 13 March 2009 . Philadelphia Historical Commission. __Pennypack Creek in Philadelphia County from Montgomery County to the Delaware River.__ County Map. Philadelphia, 1911. Silcox, Harry and Jack McCarthy. "Bridge Lessons: The Tacony-Palmyra." __Northeast Times__ 10 July 2008. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. __Market-Frankford Line.__ 10 March 2009. 16 March 2009 . —. __Ralph Modjeski.__ 22 November 2008. 22 January 2009 . —. __Roosevelt Boulevard (Philadelphia).__ 23 February 2009. 16 March 2009 . —. __Tacony-Palmyra Bridge.__ 14 December 2008. 22 January 2009 .