The Arkwright Bridge is an abandoned historic bridge formerly carrying Hill Street over the

Pawtuxet River The Pawtuxet River, also known as the Pawtuxet River Main Stem and the Lower Pawtuxet, is a river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, ac ...

in the Arkwright

mill village A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more mills or factories, usually cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe Italy * ''Crespi d'Adda'', UNESCO World Her ...

in central

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

. The river forms the border between Cranston and

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

. The first bridge to span the Pawtuxet River at this location was an early nineteenth century wooden bridge, located in the city of Cranston. In 1887, a special resolution was passed changing the Coventry-Cranston border to the Pawtuxet River. A new iron bridge was commissioned in 1888 by a joint building committee from both Coventry and Cranston and the responsibility for maintenance of the new bridge was to be shared by both municipalities. The bridge was built in 1888 by Dean & Westbrook for the Town of Coventry and the Interlaken Mills (later known as the Arkwright Mills). It is the longest surviving 19th century

truss bridge 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 (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

in Rhode Island, and was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1978. The bridge is 128 feet, 6 inches long; 19 feet, 7 inches wide; and has and a depth of truss of 21 feet. The bridge is a single-span, through

Pratt 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 (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

, built using Phoenix columns. In 2004, there was a proposal to move the Arkwright Bridge to another location along the Pawtuxet River along the border of

West Warwick, Rhode Island West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census. West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the wester ...

to be part of a proposed West Warwick Riverwalk. The bridge was ultimately not moved. The

Rhode Island Department of Transportation The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...

recommended closure of the locally owned bridge, and following an inspection, determined that the weight limit should be reduced to less than 3 tons from the previous 5 tons. Both communities closed the 123-year-old span on Friday, September 30, 2011. The bridge continues to be a popular jumping and swimming spot for local youth, with approximately 12 feet of air and an average 15 feet of water. The bridge was closed to pedestrians in 2019 after the death of a local youth who was diving off the bridge with friends.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Bridges completed in 1888 Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Cranston, Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Coventry, Rhode Island Bridges in Providence County, Rhode Island Bridges in Kent County, Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Providence County, Rhode Island 1888 establishments in Rhode Island Pratt truss bridges in the United States Metal bridges in the United States

See also

References