By:
Brittany Detz
Elizabeth Douglas
Cassandra Ohrel
Shannon Sawyer
The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge has stood strong
over the Susquehanna River connecting the towns of Columbia and Wrightsville since its
dedication on November 11, 1930. The bridge was dedicated in loving memory of the sons and
daughters of Lancaster and York Counties who served in the wars.
This bridge was not the first one erected between these towns. There were several others between the years of 1814 and 1930. Some of the bridges were destroyed due to weather related factors such as huge ice blocks and hurricanes. However, the most interesting bridge story was the Covered Bridge built in 1834 which held a crucial role during the Civil War. The shores of the Susquehanna were being marched on by Lee’s confederate army in June of 1863. In order to stop this invasion, the citizens of Columbia and Wrightsville burned the bridge down.
In 1930, a new bridge, the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, known then as the Lancaster-York inter county Bridge, formed an important traffic link carrying the Lincoln Highway across the Susquehanna River south of Harrisburg. This bridge stands strong today stretching 1.5 miles long and 38 feet across, with a sidewalk on one side of the bridge measuring 6 feet across. It has 28 beautiful stone arches. Originally, this bridge did have a tollhouse on both ends. The cost to build this bridge in 1930 was $2,529,000.
MATH TOPIC:
Multiple step problem solving telling time.
GRADE LEVEL:
Grades 4-5
PROBLEM:
How much longer does it take to walk one way across the bridge when feeling refreshed and not tired vs. how long it takes to walk back across the bridge when feeling tired and worn out?
SOLVE:
Write the start and end time for the clocks below to determine the amount of time it took
to walk each way across the bridge. Then, compare the amounts of time to determine how
much longer the trip back across the bridge took.
START:
2:07
END: 2:35
TIME: ? min
START:
2:36
END: 3:08
TIME: ? min