Codorus Creek Bridge was known as Shiverin Liz
In 2012, I did a post where I asked my readers to share memories of driving over the “Shiverin Liz” Codorus Creek bridge; as described within a 1948 newspaper article quoted in that post. Several readers came through with some neat comments after a follow-up post. This 1947 photo, from the collections of the York County History Center, is an end view of that one-lane wrought-iron bridge over the Codorus Creek between Springettsbury and Manchester Townships. The bridge served the area where the four-lane Route 30 Bridge over the Codorus now stands. If you are reading this on the Ydr.com site, click on this LINK for a Full View of the illustrations in this post on the original YorkBlog site; since the ydr.com site will occasionally cut off important details in the cropping of illustrations.
The comment I remember most, dealt with the “Shiverin Liz” name. A reader noted, when a young girl, that was the name her father always used for the bridge, especially when traveling near the middle, where the jiggling side-to-side was the greatest. She thought “Shiverin Liz” was just a funny made-up name used by her father; whenever on that bridge. Right after WWII she married a Navy man; he explained, “Shiverin Liz” was the nickname given to Jello when served on a ship, because of the way it jiggled. She realized that was where her dad picked up that term; he was also in the Navy.
In York County’s great flood of 1884, a violent storm quickly dumped over 8-inches of rain, causing widespread destruction. Like almost all bridges over the Codorus Creek, the Loucks’ Mill Covered Bridge at this location was swept away. York County Commissioners awarded a contract to the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio, for a replacement bridge at this location. The 196-feet-long wrought-iron bridge, with 14-feet-wide roadway was installed by year-end.
In 1948, the crooked bridge approaches were straightened and the 1884 iron bridge that shivered and shaked was replaced by a two-lane concrete bridge. The new road was known as the Naval Ordnance Plant Road, or simply NOP Road, before being changed to the presently used Arsenal Road.
An article in the August 15th 1948 issue of the Sunday News, York, PA Edition contained the headline: “New N O P Route Cuts Traffic Hazards.” Quoting two sentences from that article: “Although the bridge officially has an 8-ton limit, trucks twice that weight traveled over the structure. The bridge shivers and shakes like “Shiverin Liz”, but somehow, despite her age, she hasn’t fallen in the Codorus yet.” I’ve annotated a northwest looking aerial photo accompanying that article; it shows the new bridge nearing completion and the 65-year-old wrought-iron bridge shortly before it was demolished. In the following ground-level photo, one is standing on the west bank of the Codorus, above the (6) symbol in the aerial photo, and looking southeast, towards the (2) symbol in the aerial photo.
This is a side view of the “Shiverin Liz” Codorus Creek Bridge in early 1948, as the bridge decks of the two-lane concrete replacement bridge are just starting to be constructed in the background. In this view one is standing in Manchester Township and looking southeasterly into Springettsbury Township. In the late 1960s, two lanes were added to the 1948 concrete bridge during the construction of the 4-lane York Bypass. In 1972, with the opening of the 4-lane road all the way to the Susquehanna River, the York Bypass was bestowed with the Route 30 designation.
Links to related posts:
- Arsenal Road evolved from a Crooked Road that had an Iron Bridge that Shivered and Shaked
- A Road Named N.O.P., Arsenal and Whiteford; Part 4 – New 1948 N O P Route Cuts Traffic Hazards
- Springettsbury’s Last Covered Bridge over the Codorus
- Covered Railroad Bridge over the Codorus Creek
