 Its construction was administered by the then State Highway Department (predecessor of the Delaware Department of Transportation), and was built to replace the swing bridge that was built in 1883 to replace the wooden turn bridge built in 1808.The span is one of only three pre-1957 drawbridges of its type in Delaware.In 1982, the bridge was named after Wilmington state Senator John Edward Reilly Sr., a gravel-voiced cigar smoker known for his warmth and wit, who died of cancer on February 26, 1963.