Bridge - Walt Whitman Bridge

Gloucester, NJ / Philadelphia, PA

Herb Rothman & Frank L. Stahl

The designers of the Walt Whitman Bridge were Herb Rothman and Frank L. Stahl; at the time, both were employed by the firm of Ammann and Whitney in New York City. Rothman was born in New York City in 1924. By 1972 he was a senior partner at Ammann and Whitney, and in 1977 he entered the firm of Weidlinger Associates. Rothman was responsible for designing or rehabilitating several notable bridges in the New York City area, including the George Washington Bridge, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and the Triborough Bridge.

Frank L. Stahl graduated from the Federal Technological Institute (ETH) in Zurich in 1946. Like Rothman, he worked for the firm of Ammann and Whitney. Stahl worked on several notable American bridges including the Delaware Memorial Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. In 1992, he received the John A. Roebling medal for lifetime achievement in bridge construction and engineering. (JW)

The Whitman Bridge is a suspension bridge with a portal frame and deck truss. It functions as a highway bridge over the Delaware River between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Gloucester, New Jersey. The Walt Whitman Bridge is owned by the Delaware River Port Authority.

Construction of the Walt Whitman Bridge began in August 1953 and took four years; it opened to traffic on May 16, 1957. The materials used in constructing the bridge are steel pylons, steel cables, and steel deck. The bridges total length is 9.98 kilometers; it has two main cables, seven lanes, and its clearance is 46.5 meters. (JW)

Structurae (International Database and Gallery of Structures) web site (see link below).

Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey web site (see link below).