The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge that crosses the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

on the border between the towns of

Erving Erving may refer to: People * Cameron Erving (born 1992), American college football player * George W. Erving (1769–1850), American diplomat * Julius Erving (born 1950), American basketball player, also known as "Dr. J" * Erving Goffman (1922–1 ...

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 The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) oversees roads, public transit, aeronautics, and transportation licensing and registration in the US state of Massachusetts. It was created on November 1, 2009, by the 186th Session of t ...

(MassDOT). French King Bridge Aerial

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 American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is a not-for-profit technical institute and trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an or ...

. The bridge was rebuilt in 1992, and refurbished in 2008–2010.

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.

Name

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

Image gallery

Image:IMG_3758_view_north_from_French_King_Bridge.jpg, A view north from the top of the bridge during summer (August 2007) File:Autumn Massachusetts 1.jpg, A view from the bridge to Connecticut River at Autumn Image:IMG_3766_road_surface_of_French_King_Bridge.jpg, A view of the road surface and guard rails Image:IMG_3862_French_King_Bridge_lamp_post.jpg, The southwest lamp post Image:IMG_3867_French_King_bridge_guardrails.jpg, Guardrails on the north side of the bridge Image:French_king_bridge_plaque.png, The honorary plaque on the North West side of the bridge

References

External links