OFFICIAL NAME:
OTHER DESIGNATION:
Freeport Rd over Powers Run [old alignment]
nknw597-xx
LOCATION:
O'Hara Twp
USGS 7.5" Topo Quad - UTM Coordinates:
New Kensington West - Zone 17; 0597 4484
CARRIES:
Freeport Rd [old alignment - closed]
BETWEEN:
-- west of Powers Run Rd
CROSSES:
-- Powers Run
TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION / DESIGN:
concrete arch with stone facing
locally-quarried sandstone
outer spandrel wall: rock-faced coursed ashlar
upper walls and parapets: dressed coursed ashlar
arch ring: dressed stepped voussoirs in segmental arch
LENGTH OF MAIN SPAN:
ft
TOTAL LENGTH (including longest elevated ramp):
ft
ft wide, between parapets at center
HEIGHT OF DECK:
YEAR ERECTED / ENGINEER:
c1915-1925, Allegheny County
James G. Chalfant, County Engineer
ADDITIONAL INFO:
Numerous small stone arch bridges were built under the tenure of Charles Davis as County Engineer. Upon the death of Davis in 1907, James Graham Chalfant was elected to the position of County Engineer. Two of the projects undertaken by Chalfant were the reconstruction and widening of stone arch bridges of Davis: Beaver Rd over Big and Little Sewickley Creeks, 1919 and 1918 respectively. In those projects, the stonework design which may be seen as Davis' signature was retained, but the reconstruction of the bridges were done as concrete arch.
When the time came to build new bridges over streams elsewhere within the county, Chalfant evolved from the Roman simplicity of Davis. These bridges mark the introduction of stepped voussoirs along the arch ring. Other details in the stonework continued to echo the Davis design: rock-faced, coursed ashlar and rounded parapets. But the major change evident in the new structures is the use of the filled concrete arch -- the stonework is mainly a decorative covering.
While nearly two dozen of the small stone spans by Davis still exist, perhaps half that number remain of the Chalfant design.
FIELD CHECKED:
13-Oct-2002
INFO SOURCES:
field check
