Gill–Montague Bridge

Gill–Montague Bridge
Coordinates 42°36′30″N 72°33′11″W / 42.60833°N 72.55306°W / 42.60833; -72.55306Coordinates: 42°36′30″N 72°33′11″W / 42.60833°N 72.55306°W / 42.60833; -72.55306
Carries pedestrian and vehicular traffic
Crosses Connecticut River
Locale Gill and Turners Falls
Characteristics
Design truss bridge
Total length 528.2 metres (1,733 ft)[1]
History
Construction end 1938
Gill–Montague Bridge
Location in Massachusetts

Officially the Turners Falls-Gill Bridge, the Gill-Montague Bridge is a steel deck truss bridge crossing the Connecticut River in Massachusetts. It connects the Town of Gill with the village of Turners Falls in the Town of Montague. The bridge carries automobile and pedestrian traffic.

History

Before the bridge was constructed, a ferry known as "Bissel's Ferry" operated approximately a quarter-mile upriver from this site. In 1878, the ferry was replaced by an earlier bridge, known as the Upper or 'Red' Suspension Bridge -- distinguishing it from the "Lower Suspension Bridge," at the current downriver site of the Turners Falls Road Bridge -- which was 563 feet long.[2] Damaged beyond repair in the devastating Connecticut Valley flood of 1936, it was replaced by the current bridge in 1938 and torn down in 1942 to recover materials for the war effort; its piers remain on the river banks.

The current structure began construction on May 17, 1937 and was completed in September 1938.[3] The bridge was dedicated on Saturday, September 10, 1938.[4] By 2010, the road deck of the bridge had become riddled with potholes and uneven pavement. A major renovation project began in summer 2010 and finished in 2014 at an estimated cost of $40.7 million. [5] [6]

See also

  1. ↑ Massroads.com
  2. ↑ Whittlesey, Charles W. (1938). Crossing and Re-Crossing the Connecticut River. New Haven, Connecticut: The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company. p. 25.
  3. ↑ Gregory, Ed, Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Gregory, Ed, Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "MassHighway bridge information". Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  6. ↑ Broncaccio, Diane (28 July 2010). "Turners Falls-Gill Bridge begins 4-year journey to reconstruction". The Recorder. Greenfield, MA. pp. A1, A8.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/7/2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.