Sakonnet River rail bridge
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The Sakonnet River rail bridge was a
swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
that spanned the Sakonnet River between
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...
and
Tiverton, Rhode Island Tiverton is a town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,359 at the 2020 census. Geography Tiverton is located on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, across the Sakonnet River from Aquidneck Island (also know ...
, connecting Aquidneck Island to the mainland.


History

The bridge was built in 1899 by the
Pennsylvania Steel Company The Pennsylvania Steel Company was the name of two Pennsylvania steel companies. The original company was established in late 1865 by: J. Edgar Thomson, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, Samuel Morse Felton Sr., recently retired president ...
, replacing a previous crossing constructed when the Newport and Fall River Railroad opened in 1864 and served a succession of railroads; the
Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence, ...
took over the line in 1982.


Removal from service

The bridge was removed from service in 1980 after being damaged by an overweight train loaded with military equipment. The swing bridge was left in the open position to allow boat traffic to pass and in 1988 a barge ran into it. Since then equipment for tourist railroads on the island has been brought in by barge. The bridge swing structure was removed in late 2006 and the supporting piers were demolished by explosion on February 9, 2007. Only the bridge itself was formally abandoned; the tracks on either side are considered formally active to allow future restoration of service.


Reactivation of the railroad to bridge

After the Anthony Road overpass in Portsmouth, RI was rebuilt in 2019, work was done repairing several washouts to allow use to end of track. The tourist train ran past the Hummocks station built in 2017 to the end of the track on June 15, 2021 to the Sakonnet River rail bridge site. This was the first Old Colony & Newport train past the derail about from the bridge's western pier. The last train from the previous operators on this segment was 1988. The railroad track now officially ends at a bumper post at the foot of an electrical transmission tower on the bridge's western pier point. The Newport & Narragansett Bay Railroad now regularly operates its Dinner Train to the bumping post.


See also

* Crook Point Bascule Bridge * India Point Railroad Bridge


References


External links


Bridge demolition projectSakonnet River Channel RailRoad Bridge
Has direct overhead picture Demolished bridges in the United States Bridges in Newport County, Rhode Island Buildings and structures demolished in 2007 Bridges completed in 1899 Swing bridges in the United States Railroad bridges in Rhode Island Old Colony Railroad Former railway bridges in the United States 1899 establishments in Rhode Island Steel bridges in the United States {{RhodeIsland-bridge-struct-stub