| Great Crossings Bridge | |
| Crosses: | Youghiogheny River |
| Locale: | Confluence, Pennsylvania |
| Design: | Stone arch bridge |
| Length: | 3750NaN0 |
| Width: | 300NaN0 |
| Height: | 400NaN0 |
| Begin: | 1815 |
| Open: | 4 July 1818 |
The Great Crossings Bridge is a masonry bridge which is on the National Road between Somerset County and Fayette County, Pennsylvania. It crosses the Youghiogheny River near Confluence, Pennsylvania.
Built during the early nineteenth century, near a ford that had been in use by Europeans since George Washington's 1753 journey to Fort LeBoeuf, the 375feet long, 40feet high, 30feet wide sandstone bridge with three arches was erected between 1813 and 1818 by James Kinkead, James Beck and Evan Evans, and was dedicated on July 4, 1818 at an event attended by President James Monroe.[1]
The town of Somerfield, Pennsylvania, which was originally named Smythfield, was built at the eastern end of the bridge in 1817. The bridge and town were later inundated by Youghiogheny River Lake,[1] a reservoir that began filling in 1940.[2]
The bridge remains standing in the reservoir, just downstream from the present U.S. Route 40 bridge.[1] [3] The bridge is normally submerged year-round, but is occasionally accessible during periods of drought when the water level in the lake drops significantly. While the normal low-water mark during winter is at an elevation of 1419feet, the top of the bridge is visible at 1392feet and the deck is exposed at 1384feet.[4]