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Still River Depot Bridge

Worcester County, Massachusetts

Photos 

Still River Depot Bridge

Distant elevation

Photo taken by Nick Boppel in August 2020

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BH Photo #479185

Map 

Description 

This structure was clearly once open to vehicular traffic, and previously connected Still River Depot Road on the east side with Harvard Road on the west side. Today Harvard Road has been closed to traffic including pedestrians, with "No Trespassing Police Take Notice" signs posted. Still River Depot Road has been converted into an access road for Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge, but is otherwise a dead-end. Although pure speculation, it is possible that the reason the bridge was closed to traffic was to limit the amount of vehicular traffic that was passing through Oxbow NWR, as this access point appears to be around the most environmentally sensitive portions of the vast refuge.

The bridge is fenced off and gated at the west (Harvard Road) end. The east end is accessible to pedestrians but the bridge is not actively maintained and thus such access is at one's own risk. Be aware that jumpers from the bridge have been observed even though such activities are prohibited by signage.

Facts 

Overview
Deck plate girder bridge over Nashua River on Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge Access Road
Location
Worcester County, Massachusetts
Status
Closed and gated on west end. Accessible to pedestrians at east end but at one's own risk
History
Built 1900 & Rehabilitated 1950 per NBI, but not confirmed. Closure date unknown
Design
Deck plate girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 81.0 ft.
Total length: 88.9 ft.
Deck width: 21.0 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+42.49576, -71.62654   (decimal degrees)
42°29'45" N, 71°37'36" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/284166/4708165 (zone/easting/northing)
Inventory numbers
MA H09001 (Massachusetts bridge number)
BH 90322 (Bridgehunter.com ID)

Categories 

Built 1900 (920)
Built during 1900s (7,252)
Closed (2,663)
Deck girder (5,775)
Deck plate girder (65)
Girder (10,296)
Massachusetts (1,113)
 Nashua River (26)
Owned by township (2,738)
Plate girder (7,980)
Span length 75-100 feet (6,453)
Steel grate deck (450)
Total length 75-100 feet (6,598)
Worcester County, Massachusetts (159)

Update Log 

  • August 20, 2020: New photos from Nick Boppel

Sources 

  • Nick Boppel - nickboppel01 [at] gmail [dot] com

Comments 

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