Carol Comegno

@CarolComegno

CAMDEN - A throng of many thousands converged on the city plaza leading to the Delaware River Bridge and on another plaza on the Philadelphia side.

Bands played. Prayers were raised at a worship service attended by 20,000 people. Then in the afternoon, girls cut red, white and blue ribbons to open the span at both ends, allowing an estimated 100,000 people to walk across it, dressed in their finery. No vehicles were allowed to cross until midnight.

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That was the scene on a July day 90 years ago at the opening of what was then the longest suspension bridge in the world at 1,750 feet (between its two main towers) and the first bridge pedestrians and vehicles could use to cross the Delaware River.

The bridge still connects Camden and Philadelphia but has been called the Ben Franklin since its renaming in the 1950s to honor the famous Colonial revolutionary, diplomat, inventor and Declaration of Independence signer who lived in Philadelphia.

"The fact that it is still standing is a testament to its original engineering and its subsequent care and maintenance. It was a magnificent achievement, a collaboration between construction, engineering and government," said Delaware River Port Authority CEO John Hanson, whose agency owns and operates the bridge and three others.

"This and our other bridges are about connecting people with places and to promote the economy of the region."

"Bridging Urban America," a new documentary about engineer Ralph Modjeski's construction of the Ben Franklin Bridge and other urban bridges, including the Tacony-Palmyra, will be released in September.

In addition, a pictorial history book about the bridge construction has been written by Michael Howard, one of the senior DRPA engineers, and his wife, Maureen.

On July 1, 1926 – opening day for the bridge – a banner headline in the Camden Courier evening newspaper screamed to its readers: “Crowds Surge Across Bridge.”

It was called a "dream come true" by New Jersey Gov. Harry Moore, and every dignitary from both states attended he event. Construction was overseen by the Delaware River Bridge Joint Commission, predecessor to the DRPA.

On July 5, President Calvin Coolidge attended a dedication ceremony on the bridge during festivities in Philadelphia marking the sesquicentennial of the U.S.



Eventually the bridge replaced ferry service used by commuting workers, farmers and leisure passengers in what had become a very congested river.

MORE: Historic images of the bridge

Hanson said the bridge is safe, serviceable and in excellent condition because of proper care and maintenance.

“Caring for the bridge is the core of our mission. Generations of our employees have done a good job of maintaining and improving it to ensure we hand it over to the next generation in better condition than we found it.”

The Polish-born, but Paris-trained Modjeski was a virtuoso pianist who applied his knowledge of musicality to the building of his bridges. The design of the Ben Franklin is sleek with French architectural influences.

“This significant bridge encompassed every Modjeski skill, experience and all his knowledge as an engineer, innovator and artist,” said Basia Myszynski, who co-directed and produced the documentary with her cinematographer husband, Leonard, and who would like to arrange a screening of the film in South Jersey in the future if funding support can be secured.

She said Modjeski implemented six new inventions in constructing the beautifully designed Ben Franklin.

The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia awarded him its John Fritz Medal for those inventions.

When the Ben Franklin was finished Modjeski started work upriver on the smaller Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, a double-steel arch, double-leaf bascule bridge that opens for traffic.

More than 35 million vehicles crossed the bridge in 2015. Today's $5 round-trip toll for cars on the Ben Franklin Bridge is 10 times higher than the original round trip toll of 50 cents that was collected 25 cents one-way in each direction at the Camden plaza.

The cost for a single horse and rider back then was 15 cents.

Bridge construction cost $37 million. Stronger nickel steel was used and 25,100 miles of steel cable were strung.

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The roadway was redecked in 1984 at a cost of $54 million and the bridge has been repainted many times.

Its suspender ropes were replaced in 1977 for $7 million, but its larger cables have not had to be replaced yet.

Last year saw completion of rehabilitation of the PATCO Hi-Speedline track and signal system on each side of the bridge for $99 million—several million under budget.

The bridge originally had eight lanes but only six were used for traffic. Two were reserved for trolleys, but they eventually were converted for regular traffic. The eight traffic lanes later were reduced to seven because of widening to accommodate larger vehicles and a movable concrete barrier separates eastbound and westbound lanes.

Howard said he was able to use historical DRPA resources to tell the story of the construction challenges and triumphs in his book.

"There were issues in trying to get money from all three counties – Burlington, Camden and Gloucester – and there were toll disputes," he said.

Howard's book quotes Theodore Boettger, a member of the old joint bridge commission, as saying: “We are building here something that will endure and be at its full usefulness after all present here today are gone ...

“The engineers tell us that this bridge will serve hundreds of years if ordinary care be taken in painting and protecting it.”

Carol Comegno: (856) 486-2473; ccomegno@gannettnj.com

For more information

To order the documentary "Bridging Urban America:" DVDs will be available in mid-Sept. Requests may be made at https://www.facebook.com/bridgingurbanamerica or via email at bridgingUamerica@solareye.biz.

To order the Howard book, "The Ben Frankin Bridge," visit https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/Products/9780738562582 or www.amazon.com.