Recent Massachusetts Comments
Post a comment Contact webmasterWhat a total waste. I was just about to get on my bike to ride over to Fitch's Bridge this morning - I came online to get the bridge's specifications so I could note all that was noteworthy about it. Needless to say, I'm shocked. It should've been restored. Even as the bridge stood derelict it was a destination - A unique spot on the Nashua. Groton loses another landmark...
I've been in contact with the people there and I guess the vote for the replacement was overwhelming, given the fact that the bridge had been abandoned for over 40 years with no rehabilitation work. It's unclear what will be built in its place, but it appears there may be a replica in the works, but don't hold your breath.
Check out this article: http://thebridgehunter.areavoices.com/2013/04/18/fitchs-bridge-coming-down/
Nathan I appreciate your humor but this is May 1st not April 1st. Oh wait, you're not kidding. This may be the most puzzling and stunning demolition I have heard about yet.
One of the oldest rivet-connected truss bridges in the country has been demolished to make way for a Mail Order Bridge (MOB) for pedestrian use. This is one of the most wasteful, shortsighted, and downright stupid things I have ever seen. This community should be ashamed of itself. This bridge could have so easily and inexpensively been restored for pedestrian use. If anyone told this community otherwise, than they lacked proper experience working with historic truss bridges. This bridge could have been an iconic attraction for this trail system. Instead, they have destroyed an extremely significant historic bridge. And for what? An ugly, nondescript modern MOB bridge that from a functional standpoint does the same thing the historic bridge could have easily been made to do? This is an Epic Fail.
http://www.lowellsun.com/local/ci_23137071/plans-under-way-groton-bridge-celebration
I agree Luke...this is a very cool and historic pedestrian bridge. A nice find too!
It's amazing what you find trying to find stuff out about another bridge.
I added links to a couple of articles on this unique and historic footbridge. Bridge was taken off of it's foundation to be rehabilitated for continued use as part of a trail system.
Obviously a mail-order sort of bridge, but a lot NICER looking (Images in the link in the sources section.).
Some pictures of the bridge at it's new home:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moseley_Wrought_Iron_Arch_Bridge
http://www.asce.org/People-and-Projects/Projects/Landmarks/Moseley-Wrought-Iron-Arch-Bridge/
The website in the comment below is a very interesting read with more links. This tunnel was quite a feat.
2013 is fixing to be an nasty year for historic bridges. Here we have one of the oldest rivet-connected truss bridges in North America, abandoned, ready for restoration. Instead however, it is to be demolished and replaced with a pedestrian MOB.
The garage door on the west portal is a part of the ventilation system.
A web site with much information
There are plenty of concrete arches that could receive this treatment but the real potential here is for convincing people that something similar could be done if needed to get public support for preserving old trusses. Just saying "pedestrian walkway" doesn't excite as many people as "public garden".
That tornado referenced... actually killed people and destroyed houses and buildings... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_New_England_tornado_outbreak
You need a slight change in your "Overview" section. MA-3 does not cross this bridge, US-6 does. MA-3 ends at the Sagamore rotary on the west side of the bridge.
What an excellent posting. Current photos of this hidden span would be wonderful.
Bridge was finally replaced in 2011.
Will, You may want to check out my web site at www.mitchellriverbridge.com for all the latest (and earliest) on the Mitchell River Drawbridge. George
And the debate yet continues - http://t.co/iQZrnk86
Nathan, this is not the first time an alarmist Ironworker has posted images or comments on "Occupy" or "left leaning" blogs that suggest most metal bridges are deficient and need to go.
In October there were pre-renovation pictures of the A. Piatt Andrew Bridge circulated around the blogosphere sparking several "Fix it now, give us jobs" diaries.
http://www.dailykos.com/comments/1029568/43719818#c9?mode=alone;showrate=1#c9
The discussion on this entry found at Daily Kos with comments initiated by campionrules where the truth comes out.
We do not need misinformation accidental or deliberate.
Some ironworkers are craftsmen. Others are, politely said, somewhat less than that. One ironworker who falls into the "lesser" category has been spreading lies amongst the "Occupy" movement in Boston. According to this article, rivets were not used on bridges after 1930. His comments also imply that bridges that have rivets are dangerous and should be replaced. He is wrong. This bridge can and should be preserved. http://rebuildthedream.com/blog/2011/11/14/jobs-not-cuts-in-boston-november-17/#comment-4531
I think maybe we should have a category for the UMass. Since they possibly have the most historic bridges on one campus in the nation. Just a thought.
I have done further research on the GHRB. This bridge is not the GHRB but is, instead, the Fort River Bridge. According to this paper, "LENTICULAR IRON TRUSS BRIDGES IN MASSACHUSETTS" (http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/C/Amy.B.Cerato-1/LenticularBridgePaper.pdf), there are two different bridges--the GHRB, which is currently dismantled and awaiting placement at UMass Amherst and the Fort River Bridge, which is this bridge we are wrongly calling the GHRB. Read the following paragraph from the paper:
"The Fort River Bridge is a 60 ft. long span crossing the Fort River in South Amherst and is shown in Figure 13. The bridge originally carried vehicular traffic as part of South Pleasant Street or what is now Rt. 116 between Amherst and South Hadley, but in 19??, the bridge was rebuilt as a pedestrian bridge by the Town of Amherst."
Therefore, to correct this error, I am going to rename this bridge Fort River Bridge. Secondly, I will also request that the webmaster remove the HAER photos of the GHRB, with no offense to whoever put them on this bridge's page. Finally, I will create the page for the GHRB and repost the HAER photos and its info on that page.
Um......are we sure this is the Golden Hill Road Bridge? In the UMass site, http://www.ecs.umass.edu/adaptive_bridge_use/bridge_files/golden/golden.html, it says the following about the GHRB, "In the Documentation section below you will find a Google Earth file that depicts the bridge as it might someday look. In the file the bridge is set up to span the drainage ditch on the University Drive side of the practice fields."
Now, I looked at the file it refers to and it places the GHRB at a complete different location than where this bridge is located. To me it seems like the GHRB and this bridge are two complete different bridges. This bridge (the one I think is not the GHRB) is not even anywhere near University Dr.--the location that the site places the future GHRB.
Need some clarification here, I think.
Closer to a Queenpost in design... definitely very unique!
James... UMass has a "stash" of historic bridges in their possesion. When I get home later I will look for the info about it on my home computer. I thought about adding these at one time, but just never seem to find the time. I glad that you are adding all these great spans and am happy to help you when I can!
So yeah......im kinda of picking my mouth off the floor. Just been adding bridges on here at UMass and just happened to find this random lenticular pony truss south of Amherst, MA. The bridge is not listed on this site, until now, it is not listed on any other bridge site or historical site so it is completely out of the blue in my eyes. I can't really find any historical info from any database or anything, so I need help.
I put National Bridge and Iron Works as the builder of bridge.
Wow, that definitely is a Parker Patent bowstring truss. Quite a find! Yes, Parker was directly involved with National Bridge. Here is the only other one I know about (and the only one I visited in person), bringing my known total to three in the whole country. http://www.historicbridges.org/massachusetts/lowerrollstone/index.php
The use of Phoenix Columns and the small finials that adorn the one end are suggestive of the Phoenix Bridge Company. Beautiful details on this bridge especially the railings and the floor beam extensions for the walkways. I realize it's a pedestrian bridge now... but I still wish they would have utilized the walkways in the restoration.
Check this one out James:
http://bridgehunter.com/vt/windsor/elm-street/
I think you may just have found another example of a National Bridge & Iron Works product. The top chord does look very similar. The Elm Street Bridge had a deck truss added to it for extra strength many years back.
I do believe that Mr. Parker may have been directly involved with NB&I as well.
any info on this bridge would be helpful. i posted it as a parker pony truss, but in reality I have never seen a bridge like this. what kind is it? who made it?
Craig,
Your assessment is correct, the posting is drawing on NBI date for a Bailey pony truss at this location, not the through truss. The through truss at this location dates to 1912. Its quite a nice looking bridge.
That makes sense. Thanks.
Ben, you might take a second look at the data you posted for this bridge. It seems to me, based on the photo, that the data is for the NEW bridge rather then the historical bridge. The new bridge is likely a Bailey Truss bridge installed in 1988 right next to the old through truss bridge.
HDR photography is awesome and really fun to make. For those of you who don't know what hdr photography is, high dynamic range photography. A camera can photograph about 6 f-stops of light variation. The human eye can see about 13 f-stops. To achieve HDR photographs, you take a number of images at different exposure lengths from under exposed to over exposed and then combine them with Photoshop or whatever you prefer to use.
There's an amazing picture of this bridge at this site:
It's refreshing to scroll through a county's page and see 27 historic bridges open to traffic and only 1 bridge closed to traffic. That one bridge has a movement to save it also.
Wow. Apparently this bridge is located right next to the town of Satans Kingdom, MA. How lovely. lol
Fascinating... Not too many bridges that have their own website.
Sorry, the video I posted here has a misleading title. This bridge is locally known as the Iron Bridge. The video I added shows flood waters assaulting the Iron Bridge. The reason the video is titled Bridge of Flowers is because what you can't see in the video is a concrete arch bridge called Bridge of Flowers which is completely submerged under the floodwaters. For clarity, I have added the Bridge of Flowers to the website as well, since it was not listed before.
An enormous historical text that includes historical photos and numerous plan sheets is available here: http://www.archive.org/details/reportofcambridg00mass
The demolition of this truly unique and highly significant Scherzer rolling lift bascule bridge which occurred sometime after the HAER documentation was truly an atrocity.
The historical photo showing these three parallel but skewed bridges raised is one of my all-time favorite historical photos, since it is such a unique and striking shot. Its photo #1 in the BridgeHunter gallery.
Google maps shows a tiny park next to the former location of this bridge (now replaced by something modern and ugly). The park is named "Rolling Bridge Park." Unfortunately the name today probably has little meaning to anyone since the park's namesake is gone.
They have created a bypass for Rt 140 which now no longer goes over this bridge. The bridge is now closed to traffic as it was no longer safe. I do not know what the current plans are for this bridge.
I am looking for a photo/s of the historic bridge over the Charles River on Bridge Street (Rt 109) by Noble and Greenough School. There were iron railings and a cantilevered walkway. It is a stone arched bridge. Any photos showing the railings and walkway would be appreciated!
The street view is from a parallel span the looks like it might be a Bailey Truss. Is this parallel bridge temporary for the rehab period or is it there to add lanes at the crossing? Anyone know the story here?
Bridge is presently closed to traffic and under going a complete structural rebuild. All the defective steel is being replaced and the bridge will be repainted.
Also the approches are being redesigned for beter
traffic flow.
Plans for rehab of the last working Wooden drawspan in America back in the news http://t.co/3yWRBIW
I worked for the company that took the bridge down in 1970. I was 18 at the time dong general labor on the project.
The fencing along the walkway was taken off and donated to the maritime museum where it was installed as part of the landscaping. The soap stone panel in the control room was also donated to the museum. I do not the current status of those items.
I was also present when the draw span was cut loose from the counter weight where upon the counter weight crushed the span between the old turn table and the granite structure that supported draw span and control house. Nobody was injured, but it was a very a dangerous situation.
Each section of the bridge on the Fall River side was floated off on a barge and towed to Tiverton where it was cut up at Kidd's Construction Company's yard.
As a young man it was a great adventure and I worked with many interesting people. That job allowed me to save enough money for my first year of college.
It is good to see a new bridge going up to replace the Brightman Street Bridge.
Ironically there was discussion about that bridge being replaced back in 1970.
Got a loose $110 Million? Why spend a portion of it to repair a historic bridge when instead you can blow it all on a project to demolish and replace a beautiful, heavy duty riveted railroad truss bridge?
Also known as the Chain Bridge.
The ADT was redone in May 2010 and shown to be approximately 850 vehicles per day, confirming that this bridge services a rural collector road.
Barry,
The bridge on Salem Road is a concrete T-beam bridge built in 1931, so it has some significance historically, but certainly not compared to all of the 1700's and 1800's masonry arch bridges in the area. I'm not sure if any metal rails are blocking pulloffs or what the significance of the number on the guardrail is.
It appears in the map that there is another bridge a few hundred yards upstream(?) on Salem Road. Is there any historical significance to that bridge? And are all of the pull-offs near the bridge now blocked off with steel guardrails as the one in the street view? Finally what is the significance of 2006 in the abutment in the street view?
yes it is the tower on the right is the skype energy cooling tower in north weymouth i cross it north and south each day
This bridge appears to be an almost twin of the Strauss bridge in San Francisco from 1933, called the, China Basin Bridge.
Tom,
This bridge is gone. I think the bridge you are referring to is this bridge: http://www.bridgehunter.com/ma/hampden/W250100V8MHDNBI/
Old bridge not torn down. Old bridge is currently closed while undergoing extensive rehabilitation. Possible re-opening in early 2011. New bridge completed late 2009 and carrying traffic in both directions. When all bridge and street approach work ends in late 2011, old bridge will carry southbound traffic, new bridge will carry northbound traffic.
View attachment #1 (RIFF (little-endian) data, AVI, 480 x 360, ~30 fps, video: Microsoft MPEG-4 v2, audio: MPEG-1 Layer 3 (stereo, 44100 Hz), 31346960 bytes)
A photo of the bridge and a Boston bound el train. 1911
The S.S. John Hathorne was backing out of a grain dock in December 1945 and got caught in a tidal surge, taking a chunk out of the bridge and leaving the el unsupported. Temporary repairs were made immediately, but it took til March 1946 before everything was all back together.
Boston Elevated stock certificates had an engraving of an el train crossing the bridge.
Webmaster's note: The photos that were here have been incorporated into the main site.
Here's a photo of the Charlestown High Bridge being built. I'm not sure why they called it the High Bridge - it doesn't look that high. The stone masons are hard at work, and I'm sure the river channel is down there somewhere.
Webmaster's note: The photo that was here has been incorporated into the main site.
Hello everybody,
I believe the bridge on the photo is not the Fore River Bridge, is it?
I am not sure, but i visited today Norfolk County on Hwy 3A.
Please, have a look on my photo. Thanks.
Connie.
There is an active push to save this bridge by a group of historians that live in the area. Look up "Schell Bridge" on google and you can see their website. I am all for preserving historic bridges. Who needs too many UCEB's to spoil America's landscape.
The northerly channel pier was struck by a barge delivering a transformer upstream in December, 2008. The masonry pier was shifted enough that the swing span won't close. Commonwealth of MA was apparently planning to replace the bridge anyway, so it is expected to remain closed till demolished and replaced sometime in the next 2-3 years.
The 1931 "rehabilitation" you mention was actually a doubling in width. The northbound lanes of Rt. 1A use three beam spans supported on concrete pillars on either side of the tracks. The southbound lanes use the arch.
This bridge was replaced or significantly reconstructed a few years ago. If you don't know that, I can get more information and photos.
J.R.
Thanks for letting me know about the report on this bridge, I'll have to look at it this week sometime. It's a very unique structure that deserves to be saved.
Tony
Anthony, it appears this is a case of a government body setting a standard, the builders fabricating a bridge to the standard, and the government body changing the specs after the bridge was fabricated.
The whole story is in 28 page HAER Report that accompanies the HAER Documentation, you can read it by following the link in the profile. I took the liberty of condensing the report and posting it in the essay section. Drawings of the bridge, before the required changes and after, are in the full report.
For more information on the Canton Viaduct go to www.cantonviaduct.us
This has to be a one-of-a-kind bridge. The walkways on either side are through trusses, but the roadway has no lateral bracing overhead. Looks like a giant pony truss.
Officially called the Textile Memorial Bridge, it is also called the Moody Street Bridge; and because of its association with writer Jack Kerouac, called the Watermelon Man Bridge and just "Jack's Bridge."
Short-term repairs are being made as of this writing(November 2008.) Plans call for a new span to be built upstream. When completed, the historic span is slated for demolition.
A group has formed to save the span as a public space and bicycle and pedestrian crossway like Boston's Northern Avenue Bridge as well as a park like proposed plans for Northfield, Ma's Schell Memorial Bridge. The group wants it as a tribute to Kerouac as he crossed it daily as a child and used the bridge for a chapter of his novel Dr. Sax.
For a view of Jack's Bridge, see: http://www.preservationnation.org/magazine/archives/arc_911/ioo907.htm
Torn down in 2005 and replaced with concrete slab and steel beam design bridge immediately to the south of this location.
This is a Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge.
For the past 7 years (2)side-by-side temporary lift spans have been in place designed and built by Acrow Corporation. The span length is 210ft. Lift height is 120ft. Each span carries 2 lanes of traffic.
This bridge is called the Longfellow Bridge
It says that the bridge is still open to traffic. However, it appears that a new bridge was built when the highway was widened in the early 2000s. Did they leave the arches there and rebuild the deck on top of it? They did something like that on a bridge in Westford where live (at least when I'm home from college)
The Bourne Bridge Spans The Cape Cod Canal & Someone's Yard! That Is The Funniest Thing I Have Heard Of In My Life!
I have many fond memories of going to the Cape via this bridge. Looking at the picture brings back many memories of going there with my parents and another family we were (and still are) friends with. I used to think of the Cape as being heavenly because of the wonderful smells of the ocean and the atmosphere of the quaint cottage in brewster we would stay in. This bridge was always a wecoming sight for me after miles of the seemingly interminable I-495 and then Rte. 25. It was followed by the welcoming letters that said "CAPE COD" made out of bushes in the middle of the rotary that appeared right after the bridge
I have had recurring dreams and nightmares about passage over the aiken street bridge since I was very young. It has been at least 20 years worth of at least yearly dreams. Most are at night. Most include the bridge crumbling as I try to cross it or get others across it. In actuality, I love this bridge and the others in Lowell and regularly reference them when talking about my hometown. Thank you very much for having these great pictures up in here.
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