Skip to main content

VIDEO captures unloved, unowned Reynolds Bridge reduced to rubble

There was a big bang in a small town in the US state of Pennsylvania this month when a fragmentation explosion brought down the 100-year-old Reynolds Road Bridge. It was the end to the unloved bridge near Factoryville, population around 1,500. Factoryville is notable for a lack of factories ever since the one and only plant, a wool-into-cloth factory, closed down several years after it opened in the 1800s. Local residents were not sorry to see the felling of the 40m long, reinforced concrete arch deck
May 18, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
There was a big bang in a small town in the US state of Pennsylvania this month when a fragmentation explosion brought down the 100-year-old Reynolds Road Bridge.

It was the end to the unloved bridge near Factoryville, population around 1,500. Factoryville is notable for a lack of factories ever since the one and only plant, a wool-into-cloth factory, closed down several years after it opened in the 1800s.

Local residents were not sorry to see the felling of the 40m long, reinforced concrete arch deck bridge over a Canadian Pacific Railway line. For three years the ugly bridge deep within the beautiful Endless Mountain region of north eastern Pennsylvania had been closed because it was crumbling, not just into disrepair, but literally disintegrating.

Metres and metres of rebar along the pedestrian way were laid bare where nature had eroded away concrete. Parts of the structure, named after one of the first settlers in the region, Captain Robert Reynolds, had fallen into the ravine below. Earlier this month the rest of the bridge very quickly followed, when implosion subcontractor CDI shrouded the bridge and ended 100 years of history, and some recent confusion.

The bridge fell into disrepair because it also fell into a legal crack – no person, agency, company or local authority would acknowledge ownership, leaving the bridge in limbo, according to local media. When the old railway company, whose rail lines ran underneath the structure, went bankrupt, the bridge reportedly was not sold off with other assets and this went unnoticed for years, until repairs became urgent in the past decade or so.

Demolition was paid for by the Canadian Pacific Railroad, who now owns the rail lines that were running underneath the demolished bridge, according to local TV station WNEP.

%$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal Click here Visit crumbling bridge demolished Page false http://wnep.com/2015/05/14/crumbling-bridge-demolished/ false false%> to see local media reports on the bridge’s condition just before demolition.

Related Content

  • VIDEO: A little rain never hurt anyone and my car can take it
    June 10, 2016
    It wasn’t some city located in the globe’s tropical regions where rainfall is measured in metres each year. It was the northern European metropolis of London. This past week rain hammered down onto the fair city and immediate surroundings, creating flash floods that made driving in some areas very dangerous. But some drivers refused to be deterred from taking to their favourite road. A little rain wasn’t going to stop them – even if it amounted to a month’s rain, 35mm, in only several hours. It bei
  • Demolition project for UK car park
    November 5, 2012
    In the UK town of Luton, a contractor has been hard at work demolishing a car park. Situated in the centre of this large town, the car park had to be removed as it had reached the end of its working life. But the tight space of the urban working environment meant that the contractor had to be extremely careful not to damage surrounding buildings or inconvenience business, traffic or commuters. Long reach excavators with demolition attachments were used by the firm.
  • Almost gone: Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge deconstructed
    August 14, 2015
    Three years ago a welder’s cut halved Canada’s old Port Mann Bridge. David Arminas reports from the banks of the Fraser River. By the time this issue of World Highways reaches you, one of Canada’s iconic steel arch bridges will be a shadow of its former self. It’s been a three-year demolition job since the first cut across the deck of the old Port Mann Bridge just outside the city of Vancouver on Canada’s Pacific coast. A new 10-lane 2.2km Port Mann Bridge opened in 2012 (see box). It runs parallel to the o
  • VIDEO: Cycle parking at the office is getting easier
    September 7, 2015
    Highway designers are increasingly asked to integrate cycle lanes and paths into their projects in major urban areas. And many commuting cyclists are grateful for it, too. But what happens when the cycle path ends, even if it is right outside the rider’s destination, such as his or her work place, be it an office building or factory? That last few metres are essential for completing the perfect commute. This means being able to park the bicycle in a secure environment.