Governor's Bridge (Patuxent River)
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Governor's Bridge (Patuxent River)
OR:
Governor's Bridge (Patuxent River) on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Governor 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 northeas ...
near
Bowie, Maryland Bowie () is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 58,329. Bowie has grown from a small railroad stop to the largest municipality in Prince George's County; i ...
. The river marks the boundary between Prince George's and Anne Arundel counties. A bridge has been located on this site since the mid-18th century. Although a common bridge type, the current Governor 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 ...
in
Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...
.


History

Three bridges have stood on this site. The first bridge was constructed by Governor
Samuel Ogle Samuel Ogle ( 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, No ...
to travel between his mansion in Collington and the state capital in
Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. 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 U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
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, wh ...
to build a new Governor's Bridge.


Current bridge

The current truss bridge was constructed in 1912. After an inspection on May 6, 2013, the County determined the bridge was structurally deficient and in need of major repairs. The bridge was closed and on October 21, the County agreed to conduct repairs and construction activities on the bridge, which started on January 6, 2014 and re-opened on March 7, 2014. The bridge closed March 30, 2015, after contractors inspected the bridge and determined it required emergency repairs. 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. It planned to repair and re-open the bridge, but has yet to happen as of spring 2025.


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 *List of covered bridges in Maryl ...


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