The Mount Hope Bridge is a two-lane suspension bridge that runs in Mount Hope Bay east of Rhode Island in one of Narragansett Bay's narrow slits. The bridge connects the cities of Rhode Island in Portsmouth and Bristol and is part of Route 114. The tower is 285 feet (87 m) high, the main span length is 1,200 feet (366 m), and offers 135 feet (41 m) tall one. The total length of the bridge is 6,130 feet (1,868 m).
Video Mount Hope Bridge
History
Before the bridge was built, the ferry operated between Bristol and Portsmouth. The 1855 Bristol Ferry Light still remains at the base of the bridge. The Mount Hope Bridge was originally proposed in 1920, and the New Hope Bridge Company was founded in 1927, after several years of resistance from the Rhode Island General Assembly and with the influence of state senator and business leader William Henry Vanderbilt III. Construction began on December 1, 1927, using designs by Robinson & amp; Steinman.
Serious structural problems were discovered four months before opening, forcing contractors to dismantle and reassemble parts of the bridge.
On October 24, 1929, Vanderbilt gave an opening address to a dedication ceremony in which a radio connection was established with Washington, D.C. The $ 5,000,000 bridge opened to traffic and, five days later, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred. It's owned by Mount Hope Bridge Company as a private toll bridge, with an initial toll for 60 cents in one direction, and $ 1 for round trips. In 1931, the Bridge Company went bankrupt, and the leading local beer company, Rudolf F. Haffenreffer got a bridge in the curator.
It remained the longest suspension bridge in New England for 40 years, until the Pell Claiborne Bridge opened several miles south in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1971, the Mount Hope Bridge was considered to be included as part of Interstate 895 that was never built. This plan will require the construction of a parallel span, and the entire I-895 plan eventually falls due to community opposition across the route projection.
The Mount Hope bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
It experienced more than $ 15 million in renovations between 1998 and 2004.
Bicycles are allowed on this bridge, but cyclists are advised to be very careful. The bridge also has narrow sidewalks on both sides, but pedestrians are strictly prohibited from using it.
The bridge is close to the East Bay Bikeway which runs from Providence to Bristol, RI. The bridge itself is restricted as a continuation of the state bike route by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, although it does not contain a separate bicycle path or bike route. The signs have been posted on the bridge urging motorists to "share the road". A full off-road bicycle route will be completed in about three years that will cross the bridge from the end of the current bike path at Bristol and continue on the other side through the full length of Aquidneck Island to Newport.
Maps Mount Hope Bridge
Bridge token
The Mount Hope bridge was purchased by the State of Rhode Island in 1954, with the company in the curator. The victims of the bridge eventually dropped from 60 cents to 30 cents for a one-way trip. Finally discontinued in 1998, after calculations show that tolls are not high enough to cover the cost of collection.
See also
- List of Historic National Historic Places in Bristol County, Rhode Island
- List of bridges in the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
References
External links
- Photo of the Mount Hope Bridge by Kathleen Murtagh
- Page of Hope Mountain Bridge at BostonRoads.com
- Mount Hope Bridge in Structurae
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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