- Delaware Bridge
infobox road
state=NJ
type=
route=163
maint=NJDOT
established=1953
length_mi=0.30
length_ref= [cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/refdata/sldiag/00000163__-.pdf|title=Route 163 straight line diagram|author=New Jersey Department of Transportation |accessdate=2007-03-26]
length_round=2
direction_a=South
starting_terminus=
direction_b=North
ending_terminus=Dead end in Knowlton Twp
previous_type=
previous_route=162
next_type=
next_route=165The Delaware Bridge was a road bridge over the
Delaware River , connecting the settlement ofDelaware, New Jersey withPortland, Pennsylvania . Until 1953, it carriedU.S. Route 46 over the river. The bridge has been destroyed, but the approaches are still state-maintained as Route 163 inNew Jersey and State Route 1039 inNorthampton County, Pennsylvania . A still-existing bridge carries an abandoned ex-Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad line across the river just north of the former road crossing.The unsigned Route 163 runs 0.30 miles (0.48 km) from US 46 north to a dead end on the east side of US 46, all in
Knowlton Township, New Jersey . From the dead end, the bridge approach continued northwest and west over US 46 to the bridge. Route 1039 runs from the former bridge inUpper Mount Bethel Township, Pennsylvania north alongside the railroad to Route 611 and thePortland-Columbia Toll Bridge in Portland.History
The
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad bridge opened in 1856 as part of their main line. However, the road bridge in the area, built in 1869, was thePortland-Columbia Bridge further north;Myeres Ferry provided a crossing at Delaware, connecting to Ferry Lane on the New Jersey side.The Delaware Bridge was built just south of the railroad bridge after 1893. The chief engineer was
Charles Conrad Schneider . The road in New Jersey was taken over from the county by 1925, becoming part of Route 6 in the1927 renumbering andU.S. Route 46 in the1953 renumbering (dual-signed from 1935 to 1953). When Pennsylvania numbered its routes, it was at first numbered Route 987, marked as US 46 in 1935.The new
Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge openedDecember 1 ,1953 , and US 46 was shifted to end atColumbia, New Jersey . The bridge approaches then became Routes 163 and 1039. In August1955 ,Hurricane Diane destroyed the road bridge.ee also
*
List of crossings of the Delaware River References
External links
* [http://www.njroads.net/ends/163/nj163.htm New Jersey Highway Ends - 163]
Crossings navbox
structure = Crossings
place =Delaware River
bridge = Delaware Bridge
bridge signs =
upstream =Portland-Columbia Toll Bridge
upstream signs =
downstream =Riverton-Belvidere Bridge
downstream signs =
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