Stone Bridge Project

Historic Stone Bridge over a body of water during summer.

UPDATE: 04/29/2020
The final phase of construction work on the historic Stone Bridge at Manassas National Battlefield Park will begin on May 4, 2020, and conclude on or around May 22, 2020. The bridge will be closed intermittently during this project.

Construction work on the bridge began in Autumn 2017 and continued during Spring 2018. Although originally intended to be completed in one season, construction has been divided into phases to safely complete the project and address more significant deterioration than expected. The final phase of the project, to resurface the deck of the bridge, will be completed in Spring 2020.

 

Alternate Trail Access During Stone Bridge Closure

During periods of closure while the Stone Bridge is under construction, visitors may park at other locations in the park to access the park trail network, such as Matthews Hill, Stone House, and Henry Hill, as shown on this map.

 

Stone Bridge Construction

While contemporary methods and materials will be used to ensure long-term durability, this work will not change the bridge’s historic look and feel.
Construction includes:

• Stabilizing the bridge foundation
• Repairing historic stone masonry
• Re-paving the surface of the bridge

Additional work includes repairing damage to the center pier caused by years of erosion and replacing the deteriorating cement coating on the underside of the bridge. Missing and damaged stones on the exterior of the bridge will be replaced and repaired using techniques employed when the bridge was completed in the 1880s.

 

1940 view of the historic Stone Bridge

NPS Photo

About the Historic Stone Bridge

During the First Battle of Manassas, Union artillerists positioned east of the bridge fired the opening shots of the battle over the stream crossing the morning of July 21, 1861. Originally built around 1825, Stone Bridge survived the First Battle of Manassas only to have Confederate forces destroy the span in 1862. Union army engineers constructed a temporary wooden span over the bridge ruins in 1862. The present-day Stone Bridge was completed in the 1880s on site of the earlier bridge, and remained open to vehicles until the mid 1920s.