St. Malachi Road Bridge

Information and Findings From Pennsylvania's Historic Bridge Inventory

Discussion of Bridge

The one-span, 48'-long, steel thru girder bridge is supported on stone abutments. Built-up girders support rolled floorbeams and a concrete slab deck. One-high rail pipe hand railings are bolted to the top flange of the built-up girders. Fieldstone wingwalls with parapets enclose the approach roadways. According to county records, the bridge is a standard steel thru girder bridge built by the county as a routine bridge replacement project. It is a historically and technologically undistinguished example of a very common bridge type. It has no unusual or individually significant features. It is not located adjacent to the NReligible Runnymeade Farm complex. Based on the bridge's 20th-century date of construction and history as a replacement structure on a preexisting road, the bridge does not have a significant historic association with the farm, which is significant for its 18th- and 19th-century buildings and association with pre-1900 agricultural land uses and settlement patterns.

Discussion of Surrounding Area

The bridge carries a 2 lane road over a stream in a rural setting of active farms and scattered late-20th-century residences. Fields are to each of the bridge's quadrants. At the northwest corner is an iron gate and farm lane to the Runnymeade Farm. The 18th- and 19th-century farm complex has been determined eligible by PHMC (1/9/1985).

Bridge Considered Historic By Survey: No