Crossing the Canal at Washington Road

Crossing the Canal at Washington Road. Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park. , When the D&R Canal was finished in 1834, the D&R Canal Company had built a total of 19 pivot bridges along the 44-mile canal to carry roads over the hand-built waterway., The Washington Road bridge was one of these original bridges: a timber, A-frame swing bridge. Opening and closing these structures required a bridge tender to facilitate the flow of traffic on both the canal and the road. When vessels approached this road crossing, the bridge tender would use a “bridge key” to crank a series of gears that moved the deck and swung open the span. When the boats passed through, the bridge tender reversed the process, moving the bridge back into the closed position and realigning the roadway., The assigned bridge tender lived in a house constructed by the canal company at the southeast corner of the Washington Road bridge. Additionally, a small, one-room structure, known as the bridge tender’s station, sat across Washington Road from the house. These stations were large enough to fit a small stove and a few pieces of furniture providing a comfortable place for bridge tenders to wait for approaching canal vessels in need of a bridge opening., Over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, the Washington Road bridge was replaced three times, most recently in 2023. None of the canal era buildings at this location exist today., ( photo captions ) , , This 1900 view of the Washington Road bridge was taken near where the towpath crosses Washington Road, near where you are standing. The A-frame swing bridge at the center of the photograph is in the closed position, allowing travel along Washington Road. To the left of the bridge is the bridge tender's house. To the right are several small buildings associated with the canal crossing, including the bridge tender’s station. , , An undated view of the Washington Road bridge in the open position. This A-frame swing bridge was hand operated by a bridge tender, who used a key to work a series of cranks to open and close the bridge when vessels approached on the canal. The cables extending from the peak of the A-frame supported the bridge deck, and the rungs on the frame provided access to monitor their tension. The small bridge tender’s station sits adjacent to the bridge, visible at right. In the background is the first Princeton University Boathouse, which was constructed around 1874. , , A 1914 plan of the Washington Road bridge over the D&R Canal showing the locations of the various canal buildings and the Princeton University Boathouse.