Governor's Bridge (Patuxent River)
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Governor's Bridge is an historic single-lane bridge over the
Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast ...
near
Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County, and the fifth most populous c ...
. The river marks the boundary between Prince George's and
Anne Arundel Anne Calvert, Baroness Baltimore (née Hon. Anne Arundell; c. 1615/1616G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, G ...
counties. A bridge has been located on this site since the mid-18th century. Although a common bridge type, the current Governor's Bridge is one of only two surviving
truss bridges 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 s ...
in
Prince George's County ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobrook ...
.


History

Three bridges have stood on this site. The first bridge was constructed by Governor
Samuel Ogle Samuel Ogle (c. 1694 – 3 May 1752) was the 16th, 18th and 20th Proprietary Governor of Maryland from 1731 to 1732, 1733 to 1742, and 1746/1747 to 1752. Background The Ogle family was quite prominent for many centuries in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, ...
to travel between his mansion in Collington and the state capital in
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
. By 1817, the first bridge had been damaged beyond repair or destroyed and a
ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...
was being used to traverse the river at the site. On February 4, 1817, the
State of Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...
commissioned Joseph N. Stockett and James Sanders of
Anne Arundel County Anne Arundel County (; ), also notated as AA or A.A. County, is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 588,261, an increase of just under 10% since 2010. Its county seat is Annapolis, whi ...
to build a new Governor's Bridge.


Current bridge

The current truss bridge was constructed in 1912. The bridge was repaired in 2014 after structural deficiencies were discovered during a routine inspection. It was closed in May 2013, underwent major repairs starting in January 2014, and reopened in March 2014. The bridge closed March 30, 2015, after contractors inspected the bridge and determined it required emergency repairs. In 2016, Prince George's County announced that the bridge was scheduled to reopen in 2019. In October 2018, the county held a public meeting to describe six different proposals for repairing or replacing the bridge. In September 2019, the county held a public meeting to review feedback on the alternatives. As of March 2020, the Prince George's County Capital Roadway and Bridge Projects web site stated that reconstruction was still in the planning stages.


See also

*
List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland __NOTOC__ This is a list of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in the US state of Maryland. Bridges See also *List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland This is a list of bridges and tunn ...


References


External links

*{{HAER , survey=MD-85 , id=md1317 , title=Governor's Bridge, Governor's Bridge Road spanning Patuxent River, Bowie, Prince George's County, MD , photos=1 , data=1 , cap=1 Bridges in Anne Arundel County, Maryland Bridges in Prince George's County, Maryland Bridges completed in 1907 Historic American Engineering Record in Maryland Landmarks in Maryland Road bridges in Maryland Steel bridges in the United States Pratt truss bridges in the United States Patuxent River