Rating:
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White Rock Bridge

Washington County, Rhode Island, and New London County, Connecticut

Photos 

Overview

Photo taken April 1994 by Wayne Fleming for the Historic American Engineering Record

BH Photo #108768

Map 

Street View 

Description 

This pair of bridges cross both the Pawcatuck River as a through truss bridge, and the White Rock Canal as a pony truss. The original configuration was unusual in that separate structures were provided for highway and trolley traffic with a common center truss. (See photo #2.) The highway portion was replaced after closing in 1976. (NBI says built 1996.) The railroad portion was retained for pedestrian use.

Facts 

Overview
Through and pony truss bridge over Pawcatuck River on Bridge Road/White Rock Road at Westerly
Location
Washington County, Rhode Island, and New London County, Connecticut
Status
Open for Pedestrian Use
History
Built 1906 by the National Construction Co.; railroad discontinued 1922; bridge closed to all traffic in 1976
Builder
- National Construction & Equipment Co. of New York, New York
Railroads
- Interurban
- Norwich & Westerly Railway
Design
Pratt through truss over Pawcatuck River
Pratt pony truss over White Rock Canal (Tail race of White Rock Mill)
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 126.0 ft.
Total length: 234.0 ft.
Deck width: 9.8 ft.
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.39754, -71.84197   (decimal degrees)
41°23'51" N, 71°50'31" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/262415/4586787 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Ashaway
Average daily traffic (as of 2008)
1
Inventory numbers
RI 652 (Rhode Island bridge number)
HAER No. RI-39
BH 31979 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of January 2009)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Fair (5 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Good (7 out of 9)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

Built 1906 (609)
Built during 1900s (7,141)
Connecticut (759)
HAER documented (1,106)
Have street view (26,552)
Interurban (906)
National Construction & Equipment Co. (1)
New London County, Connecticut (73)
Norwich & Westerly Railway (3)
Open to pedestrians (4,119)
Owned by township (2,621)
Pony truss (16,103)
Pratt pony truss (3,606)
 Pratt through truss (5,329)
Pratt truss (9,199)
Preserved (1,170)
Rail-and-Road (373)
Railroad (15,307)
Rhode Island (192)
Span length 125-175 feet (4,196)
State line crossing (845)
Through truss (14,893)
Total length 175-250 feet (4,231)
Truss (32,516)
Washington County, Rhode Island (30)

Update Log 

  • November 16, 2020: Updated by Chester Gehman: Added description-unusual configuration
  • July 14, 2016: Updated by Christopher Finigan: Added category "Preserved"
  • January 3, 2014: Updated by Luke Harden: Added categories "railroad", "Rail-and-Road", "Interurban", "Norwich & Westerly Railway"
  • August 14, 2013: New photos from C Hanchey
  • February 1, 2011: Updated by J.P.: bridge open to pedestrians
  • September 15, 2006: Posted HAER photos

Sources 

  • J.P. - wildcatjon2000 [at] gmail [dot] com
  • HAER RI-39 - White Rock Bridge, Spanning Pawcatuck River & White Rock Canal, Westerly, Washington, RI
  • C Hanchey - cmh2315fl [at] yahoo [dot] com
  • Luke
  • Chester Gehman - gehmanc2000 [at] yahoo [dot] com

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