The bridge was built in 1866 and 1867 by the Connecting Railway, a company affiliated with the Pennsylvania Railroad and formally purchased by the PRR in 1871.

The bridge was probably designed by John A. Wilson, chief engineer of the Connecting Railway Company, who surveyed the route in 1863.

Following Wilson's 1864 resignation, PRR First Vice-President George Brooke Roberts, an engineer, took over the project and saw it through to completion.

[2] Between 1912 and 1915, PRR more than doubled the width of the bridge to 5 tracks, and replaced the mid-river iron truss with two massive stone arches.

Reiter, Curtis & Hill built the reinforced concrete bridges over Lansdowne Drive and West Girard Avenue, and the viaduct curving around the Philadelphia Zoo.