French King Bridge

Last updated
French King Bridge aka: FKB
French King Bridge Panorama1.jpg
Coordinates 42°35′52″N72°29′48″W / 42.59778°N 72.49667°W / 42.59778; -72.49667 Coordinates: 42°35′52″N72°29′48″W / 42.59778°N 72.49667°W / 42.59778; -72.49667
CarriesMA Route 2.svg Route 2 pedestrian and vehicular traffic
Crosses Connecticut River
Locale Gill, Massachusetts, and Erving, Massachusetts
Maintained by
ID number E-10-014 or G-04-009
Characteristics
Design Spandrel-braced steel deck arch bridge
Total length782 feet (238 m)
Width47.8 feet (14.6 m)
Height140 feet (43 m) [1]
Longest span460 feet (140 m)
History
Construction startSeptember 1931
Construction end1932
OpenedSeptember 10, 1932
Location
French King Bridge

The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge [2] that crosses the Connecticut River on the border between the towns of Erving and Gill, Massachusetts, United States. The bridge, part of Massachusetts Route 2, carries automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic and is owned and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

Contents

French King Bridge French King Bridge Aerial.jpg
French King Bridge

History

The French King Bridge (FKB) was opened to traffic on September 10, 1932. It was named the "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" of 1932 by the American Institute of Steel Construction. The bridge was rebuilt in 1992, and refurbished in 2008–2010. [3] [4]

Suicides

In 2009, police said that between 26 and 31 people were known to have jumped off the bridge since its construction in 1932, with only 2 survivors. [5]

Name

The name comes from a nearby geographic feature named French King Rock, visible in the middle of the river. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge</span> Cable-stayed bridge completed 2003 across the Charles River in Boston, United States

The Leonard P. ZakimBunker Hill Memorial Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge completed in 2003 across the Charles River in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a replacement for the Charlestown High Bridge, an older truss bridge constructed in the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvard Bridge</span> Charles River overpass

The Harvard Bridge is a steel haunched girder bridge carrying Massachusetts Avenue over the Charles River and connecting Back Bay, Boston with Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the longest bridge over the Charles River at 2,164.8 feet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Water Bridge</span> Twin-span bridge between Sarnia, Ontario, Canada and Port Huron, Michigan, US

The Blue Water Bridge is a twin-span international bridge across the St. Clair River that links Port Huron, Michigan, United States, and Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Water Bridge connects Highway 402 in Ontario with both Interstate 69 (I-69) and Interstate 94 (I-94) in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longfellow Bridge</span> Bridge in Massachusetts

The Longfellow Bridge is a steel rib arch bridge spanning the Charles River to connect Boston's Beacon Hill neighborhood with the Kendall Square area of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The bridge carries Massachusetts Route 3, US Route 3, the MBTA Red Line, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic. The structure was originally known as the Cambridge Bridge, and a predecessor structure was known as the West Boston Bridge; Boston also continued to use "West Boston Bridge" officially for the new bridge. The bridge is also known to locals as the "Salt-and-Pepper Bridge" due to the shape of its central towers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truss bridge</span> Bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss

A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements may be stressed from tension, compression, or sometimes both in response to dynamic loads. The basic types of truss bridges shown in this article have simple designs which could be easily analyzed by 19th and early 20th-century engineers. A truss bridge is economical to construct because it uses materials efficiently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Astoria–Megler Bridge</span> Bridge in Washington, USA

The Astoria–Megler Bridge is a steel cantilever through truss bridge in the northwest United States that spans the lower Columbia River, between Astoria, Oregon, and Point Ellice near Megler, Washington. Opened 56 years ago, in 1966, it is the longest continuous truss bridge in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Route 2</span> State highway in Massachusetts, United States

Route 2 is a 142.29-mile-long (228.99 km) major east–west state highway in Massachusetts. Along with Route 9 and U.S. Route 20 to the south, these highways are the main alternatives to the Massachusetts Turnpike/I-90 toll highway. Route 2 runs the entire length of the northern tier of Massachusetts, beginning at the New York border, where it connects with New York State Route 2, and ending near Boston Common in Boston. Most of the route is a freeway through the northern tier of Massachusetts, with the longest non-limited access segments being the western portion. Older alignments of Route 2 are known as Route 2A.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston University Bridge</span> Bridge over the Charles River between Boston and Cambridge, Massachusetts

The Boston University Bridge, originally the Cottage Farm Bridge and commonly referred to as the BU Bridge, is a steel truss through arch bridge with a suspended deck carrying Route 2 over the Charles River, connecting the Boston University campus to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huey P. Long Bridge (Jefferson Parish)</span> Road and railroad bridge in Louisiana, U.S.

The Huey P. Long Bridge, located in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, is a cantilevered steel through-truss bridge that carries a two-track railroad line over the Mississippi River at mile 106.1, with three lanes of US 90 on each side of the central tracks. It is several kilometers upriver from the city of New Orleans. The East Bank entrance is at Elmwood, Louisiana, and the West Bank at Bridge City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arrigoni Bridge</span> Bridge in Middlesex County, Connecticut

The Arrigoni Bridge, also known locally as the Portland Bridge is a steel through arch bridge carrying Route 66 and Route 17 across the Connecticut River, connecting Middletown, Connecticut to Portland, Connecticut. When it opened in 1938, the 1,200 feet (370 m) bridge was the most expensive bridge ever built in Connecticut, at a cost of $3.5 million. Its two distinctive 600 feet (180 m) steel arches have the longest span length of any bridge in the state. The bridge has an average daily traffic of 33,600.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Girard Point Bridge</span> Bridge in Pennsylvania, United States

The Girard Point Bridge is a double-decked cantilevered truss bridge carrying Interstate 95 across the Schuylkill River in the American city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The bridge was opened in 1973. It is the last crossing of the Schuylkill River, which empties into the Delaware River less than half a mile downstream. It has an has an average of 148,500 vehicles per day, including 6% truck traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lamar Boulevard Bridge</span> Historic bridge in Austin, Texas

The Lamar Boulevard Bridge is a historic arch bridge carrying Texas State Highway Loop 343 over Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, Texas, United States. The bridge features six open-spandrel concrete arches spanning 659 feet (201 m) and carries tens of thousands of vehicles daily across the lake. Completed in 1942, the Lamar Boulevard Bridge was the second permanent bridge to cross the Colorado River, and one of the last Art Deco-style open-spandrel concrete arch bridges built in Texas. The bridge was named an Austin Landmark in 1993 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Haddam Swing Bridge</span> Bridge in Haddam and East Haddam, Connecticut

The East Haddam Swing Bridge is a steel, movable (swing) truss bridge. The bridge is composed of three spans crossing the Connecticut River between Haddam, Connecticut and East Haddam, Connecticut. The bridge carries Route 82, with an average daily traffic of 11,600. At the time of its construction, it was reputed to be the longest swing bridge of its kind in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge</span> Bridge in Massachusetts to Hadley, Massachusetts

The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge is a former crossing of Boston and Maine Railroad over the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley, by the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which is currently used for bicycle and foot traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorial Bridge (Massachusetts)</span> Bridge in to West Springfield, Massachusetts

The Hampden County Memorial Bridge is a reinforced-concrete arch bridge that spans the Connecticut River between Springfield, Massachusetts and West Springfield, Massachusetts, constructed in 1922. The bridge is owned by Massachusetts Highway Department and is located on Massachusetts Route 147. It spans 209 feet (64 m) and rises 29.71 feet (9.06 m) above the river.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schell Bridge</span> Bridge in Northfield, Massachusetts

The Schell Memorial Bridge is a steel cantilever Pennsylvania (Petit) truss bridge spanning the Connecticut River in the town of Northfield, Massachusetts. Designed by Edward S. Shaw, the bridge abutments and piers were built by the firm of Ellis & Buswell of Woburn, Massachusetts, and the superstructure was built by the New England Structural Company of East Everett, Massachusetts. The bridge was commissioned by Francis R. Schell, who gave $42,000 for design and construction. Construction began in 1901 and was completed in 1903. In 1985, due to advanced deterioration of the steel truss members, the bridge was barricaded and abandoned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Bridge (Connecticut)</span> Bridge in Stratford and Milford

The Washington Bridge, also known as the Devon Bridge, carries U.S. Route 1 (US 1) over the Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut, connecting the city of Milford to the town of Stratford. Its geographic location is N 41.20037 by W −73.11039. It is considered architecturally notable by the National Register of Historic Places for its five 100-foot-long (30 m) arches. It is designated Bridge No. 327 by the state Department of Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arch Bridge (Bellows Falls)</span> Bridge in Vermont to North Walpole, New Hampshire

The Bellows Falls Arch Bridge was a three-hinged steel through arch bridge over the Connecticut River between Bellows Falls, Vermont and North Walpole, New Hampshire. It was structurally significant as the longest arch bridge in the United States when it was completed in 1905.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Contoocook Railroad Bridge</span> United States historic place

The Contoocook Railroad Bridge is a covered bridge on the former Contoocook Valley Railroad line spanning the Contoocook River in the center of the village of Contoocook, New Hampshire, United States. It is referred to in the National Register of Historic Places as the Hopkinton Railroad Covered Bridge, for the town of Hopkinton, New Hampshire, in which the village of Contoocook is located.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chelsea Street Bridge (Boston)</span> Bridge

The Chelsea Street Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge that carries Chelsea Street between East Boston, Massachusetts, and Chelsea, Massachusetts, over the Chelsea Creek. It opened to traffic on May 12, 2012, after a $125.3M construction project replaced the previous bridge, a single-leaf bascule-type drawbridge. The span is 450 feet (140 m) with a vertical clearance, when opened, of 175 feet (53 m). There are two lanes and a sidewalk in each direction.

References

  1. Federal Writers' Project (1937). Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People. American Guide Series. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 453. ISBN   9781603540209.
  2. Massachusetts Highway Department. "French King Bridge". Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2009-09-02. It is of engineering interest as an unusual development of the uncommon three-span, "cantilever arch" bridge type, in that definite reactions were jacked into its steel work at the conclusion of construction, resulting in a bridge which is structurally continuous across four supports.
  3. "Project 603723R contract granted". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  4. "Project status page". Archived from the original on 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
  5. (subscription required)
  6. The WPA Guide to Massachusetts: The Bay State. Trinity University Press. 2013 [1938]. p. 412. ISBN   978-1595342195.