A respected bridge-building firm of Kansas City, Missouri, designed this, the sixth bridge to span the river at the historic crossing on what was the main north–south road in colonial America. The first bridge here went up in 1764. Its replacement was a pioneering chainlink suspension span (1810, washed away 1822), itself followed by two covered bridges (1822, Lewis Wernwag, washed away 1839; its successor, demolished 1887) and then a wrought-iron Pratt through truss (demolished 1928). The current bridge was built to handle increased automobile traffic, which toward the end of its predecessor's life made up 85 percent of traffic across the river here. The Harrington firm had competed unsuccessfully for the Washington Memorial Bridge (WL57) a few years before. The structure is of steel girders, though those at the sides are encased in concrete, and the whole is made, decoratively, to resemble a masonry arch. The single, clear span measures 150 feet. The bridge was rehabilitated in 2002.