BRIDGES OF WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Arizona Avenue Trestle in Washington, DC, crosses the C&O Canal and Canal Road a few miles north of Georgetown. Completion of the Georgetown Branch Railroad required a new bridge to carry the rail line across the C&O Canal, as well as Canal Road adjacent to the canal. This was accomplished by disassembling two existing railroad bridges in other locations, transporting them to the C&O Canal, and re-assembling them in their current location at the intersection of Arizona Avenue and Canal Road, a few miles northwest of Georgetown. The bridge consists of two very different spans, both salvaged from earlier railroad lines in Pennsylvania in 1909. One span is shorter and skewed, while the other is much taller, suggesting that the two spans came from different rail lines.

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In the late 1980s, the rail traffic was stopped. By 1990, the entire seven-mile rail line had been converted to recreational use as the Capital Crescent Trail. Today, the bridge carries bikes and joggers across the canal and Canal Road.

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There is a description of the Arizona Avenue Trestle in my book, Bridges of Washington, DC: A History and Guide.