Former Old Stone Bridge

USA / Rhode Island / Tiverton / Park Avenue
 ruins, bridge
This draw bridge connected Tiverton and Portsmouth, Rhode Island, and carried RI Route 138 across the Sakonnet River, the easternmost part of Narragansett Bay. The bridge had two steel truss sections in the middle, which pulled up the drawbridge between. It was destroyed during Hurricane Carol in 1954, but by this time it was in the process of being replaced by the Sakonnet River Bridge upstream.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Bridge_(Rhode_Island)
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°37'32"N   71°13'1"W

Comments

  • I believe it may have been Hurricane Carol (31 August 1954) that washed away the "Old" Stone Bridge.
  • This bridge was weakened in hurricane Carol in 1954 and removed soon after. The Sakonnet River Bridge to the north was already under construction at the time of Carol and replaced the "old" Stone Bridge.
  • The original "old stone bridge" was built just after 1800 and carried the passenger carriage trade from New Bedford to Newport until about 1845. The city labeled "Dartmouth" is actually the whaling city of New Bedford. Dartmouth is the town immediately to the west, with Westport Ma west of that, abutting Tiverton RI. The drawbridge portion of the bridge was replaced several times, and repaired several times. It was last rebuilt after the hurricane of 1938, and was repaired after Carol in 1954 to keep the bridge open until the new Sakonnet river bridge was completed. The central portion was then torn down.
This article was last modified 5 years ago