Bridge in Cumberland Township facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cunningham Bridge
Cunningham Bridge in 1982
Coordinates	39°45′27″N 77°17′6″W / 39.75750°N 77.28500°W / 39.75750; -77.28500
Carries	Cunningham Road
Crosses	Marsh Creek
Locale	Greenmount, Adams County, PA
Maintained by	PennDOT
Characteristics
Design	mainspan is the "first example" of a Baltimore truss
Total length	256 feet (78 m)
Width	13 feet, 8 inches
Load limit	3 tons
Clearance above	11 feet, 7 inches
History
Closed	1990

The Cunningham Bridge is an historic place on the national register in Adams County, Pennsylvania, near Greenmount, Pennsylvania, United States. The three-section iron bridge spans west-to-east from Franklin Township to Cumberland Township and is the oldest example of a Baltimore truss. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Bridge in Cumberland Township" in 1988 despite being in Franklin Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania.

Chronology

• 1894 — The Pittsburgh Bridge Company (Nelson & Buchanon Engrs. & Contrs, agents) built the bridge 0.5 mile west of the Greenmount.
• 1986 — A $138,512 upgrade began for the bridge.
• 1990 — The bridge was closed indefinitely.
• 1996 — After having been struck by a motorist in the Spring, the Cunningham Bridge survived a 500 year flood on June 19 that washed away the wooden Sachs Covered Bridge (upstream) and the iron 1886 Rothhaupt Bridge (downstream).
• 1997 — A 1997 Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) study recommended replacing the entire bridge, and the Adams County Citizens Alliance held a meeting on April 8 regarding the bridge.
• 2000 — PennDOT planned to demolish the Cunningham Bridge.
• 2002 — A resolution by the county commissioners was for "every effort should be made to keep the bridge at its current location [and] preserve as much historic detail as possible."
• 2011 — The bridge was slated for demolition in 2011.