Photographs of the Bridges
Long Bridge, Washington, DC
The “Fourteenth Street Bridge” is a complex package of bridges crossing the Potomac River between Crystal City, Virginia and downtown Washington, DC. The package includes three unappealing mid-century interstate highway traffic bridges for which nobody knows their individual names, one relatively modern Metro subway bridge, and the Long Bridge, a dark, rusted, very unattractive steel-plate girder railway bridge that looks as if it has seen better days. The bridge is owned and operated by CSX Transportation, which is a freight carrier. However, it is also used by Amtrak for regional passenger traffics, and the Virginia Railway Express for commuters from northern Virginia.
The first bridge at this location was the Long Bridge, constructed as a roadway bridge in 1809. The Long Bridge underwent multiple changes back and forth from road bridge to rail bridge and back again, with the current railroad bridge bearing the name “Long Bridge” having been constructed in 1904. Mostly having a flat, low profile only about fifteen feet above the tidal Potomac, the bridge has a prominent central truss that, when built, could rotate to allow passage of shipping traffic. Later bridges in the Fourteenth Street complex were constructed without movable spans, so the rotating span on the Long Bridge has not been used since the 1960s.
In late 2024, ground was broken on a new railway bridge, parallel to the existing Long Bridge. The new bridge will be used by Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains, leaving the 1904 bridge to be used only by CSX for freight. The plan also includes a parallel pedestrian and bicycle bridge.
My book, Bridges of Washington, DC: A History and Guide, provides a much more detailed description of the colorful history of the Long Bridge, as well as the entire Fourteenth Street complex.
