150th Anniversary 150-Ft Free Bridge on the Quad Build

To commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of Lafayette Engineering, students, faculty, alumni and parents will build a replica of the Free Bridge on the Quad!

The 150-foot long, 4-foot wide bridge will be assembled from 8 a.m. to noon  using kits which have been prefabricated by Lafayette’s engineering shop. From noon through Sunday evening, Oct. 2, visitors can view and walk the replica.

The Northampton Street Bridge connecting NJ and PA, known locally as the “Free Bridge,” was designed by James Madison Porter III, a graduate of Lafayette’s Civil Engineering program and faculty member from 1890-1917. Porter’s grandfather, James Madison Porter, was one of the College’s founders in 1826.  Lafayette Engineering will donate the materials to Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley after the bridge is dismantled.