Firefighters' Memorial Bridge, bridge in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania
The Firefighters' Memorial Bridge, also known as the Water Street Bridge, is a steel truss bridge spanning the Susquehanna River in Pittston. Built in 1914 by the Penn Bridge Company, it features five large spans with a distinctive pin-connected Parker truss design that connects the towns on either side of the river.
The bridge was built in 1914 by the Penn Bridge Company and is among the few surviving large multi-span pin-connected truss bridges of its era in Pennsylvania. After repairs in 1984 that renewed its deck and railings, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and has served the community for over a century.
The bridge honors firefighters who died in 1993 and is cherished by the community as a memorial tribute. Residents gather here for local celebrations and festivals, where the red arches and lighting system reflect the significance of firefighting to the town's identity.
The bridge has a pedestrian and bicycle pathway, though the original structure is aging. The original bridge was closed in 2021 and is being replaced with a new design that will feature wider sidewalks and modern safety features when construction begins around 2026.
This was once one of many similar truss bridges crossing the Susquehanna River, but most have been demolished or replaced, making this one a rare survivor of early 20th-century engineering. Engineers once considered this truss style outdated, but it is now valued as an important piece of bridge-building history.
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