Ben Franklin Bridge Tour with TrYOU & DRPA
For the fourth event of 2022-2023 school year, Transportation YOU (TrYOU) invited their mentees to the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) for a tour of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
The event included an informative presentation of the bridge’s history, a walking tour of the Camden side of the Ben Franklin Bridge, and a model bridge building group activity using K’nex.
Mike Howard, Principal Engineer at DRPA presented on the history of the Ben Franklin Bridge, from the process of planning and funding the project, to the design and construction of materials and procedures used to build the suspension bridge. The presentation also discussed how DRPA operates and maintains the four bridges in Philadelphia, and the scope of the ongoing $185 million rehabilitation project of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
After learning about the history of the bridge, the mentees had the opportunity to walk on the bridge to visually see the structural aspects of the suspension bridge from the anchorages, the decorative lighting, and cables used. The mentees asked insightful questions during the bridge tour and had fun despite the rainy weather.
To close out the day’s program, DRPA conducted a group activity for the mentees to build their own bridge design, where they were able to learn and brainstorm the main structural components of how a bridge is formed.
Thank you to the DRPA for hosting this event!
Fun Facts:
- Anchorages weigh 800 million pounds
- Cables used to build the Ben Franklin bridge could circle around the Earth
Mentors in Attendance:
- Andrea Quinn
- Gina Venuto
- Kiera Crenny
- Sarah Doan
- Donna Guzewski
- Iuliana Murgescu
- Peiying Zou
- Dani Schroeder
- Rose Rinker