Some of its concrete piers encase stone masonry piers from an earlier truss bridge on this site, completed in 1891 by the Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsburgh Railroad, which was then acquired by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad to connect its Harrisburg and Lurgan lines.

Planned in the midst of a fierce power struggle between the then major railway companies, construction of that bridge was halted in 1885 in the wake of a compromise negotiated by the banker JP Morgan.

The originally single-track P&R bridge consisted of 23 wrought-iron truss girders with a length of 45.5 meters each, whereby the pillars of sandstone had already been designed for a later twin-rail expansion.

With the emergence of more powerful and heavier steam locomotives at the beginning of the 20th century, the maximum load capacity of the bridge was reached.

The Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Bridge went to the Norfolk Southern Railway, which it uses for its rail freight service between Harrisburg in Pennsylvania and Hagerstown in Maryland (Lurgan Branch), but also partially approved use by CSX Transportation.