Long Bridge

Long Bridge A view of Long Bridge from the DC side. Photograph taken circa 1864. Notice the Union soldier sentries. Source: Library of Congress

The 5,000 foot long rickety wooden-pile structure, with two draw spans, was considered to be the longest bridge in the United State at the time.

In May 1809, a nearly one mile-long bridge across the Potomac was built to connect Washington and Alexandria. The 5,000-foot long rickety wooden-pile structure, with two draw spans, was considered to be the longest bridge in the United States at the time. On the Washington side, it landed at the end of Maryland Avenue SW near 14th Street SW. Before the bridge was built, only a ferryboat connected the city of Washington and Alexandria County.

According to local news reports of the day, the bridge was 36 feet wide, with 29 feet for the broad carriageway in the center. The rest was for walkways on each side, protected from center traffic by a guardrail. It was built on 201 piers, with 20 lamps, a 25' wide draw on one side, and a 35' wide one on the other. A 100-foot-long wharf was constructed near one of the draws.

According to Donald Beekman Myer's "Bridges and the City of Washington" (1974), on August 24, 1814, following the Battle of Bladensburg during the War of 1812, the President, officers of the country, and American troops used it to retreat to Virginia and burnt the south end of the bridge behind them. The next day, British troops burned the north end of the bridge as they entered the City of Washington. The bridge was repaired by 1818.

Historically, the bridge is associated with the Civil War. It was a strategic transportation link between the North and South. Heavily guarded by Union forces, the bridge was updated to support railroad traffic. On July 23, 1864, a new, stronger bridge built by the Washington, Alexandria, and Georgetown Railroad Company was completed about 100 feet downriver.

From the start, Long Bridge has always been plagued by ice build-ups. Following the Civil War, several bridges were built to replace the original span. Today, the remaining legacy bridge (updated in the 1940s) is only used for railroad traffic. Newer bridges, including the Memorial Bridge, the Roosevelt Bridge, the 14th Street Bridge, and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge have become the primary transportation routes for automobile traffic.