The Turners Falls–Gill Bridge (sometimes called the Gill–Montague Bridge), is a steel deck

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 ...

crossing 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 into Long Isl ...

in Massachusetts. It connects the Town of

Gill A gill () is a respiration organ, respiratory organ that many aquatic ecosystem, aquatic organisms use to extract dissolved oxygen from water and to excrete carbon dioxide. The gills of some species, such as hermit crabs, have adapted to allow r ...

with the village of Turners Falls in the Town of Montague. The bridge carries automobile and pedestrian traffic.

History

Before the bridge was constructed, a ferry known as "Bissel's Ferry" operated approximately a quarter-mile upriver from this site. In 1878, the ferry was replaced by an earlier bridge, known as the Upper or 'Red' Suspension Bridge—distinguishing it from the "Lower Suspension Bridge," at the current downriver site of the Turners Falls Road Bridge—which was 563 feet long. Damaged beyond repair in the devastating Connecticut Valley flood of 1936, it was replaced by the current bridge in 1938 and torn down in 1942 to recover materials for the war effort; its piers remain on the river banks. The current structure began construction on May 17, 1937 and was completed in September 1938. The bridge was dedicated on Saturday, September 10, 1938. By 2010, the road deck of the bridge had become riddled with potholes and uneven pavement. A major renovation project began in summer 2010 and finished in 2014 at an estimated cost of $40.7 million.

References

Project status page

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turners Falls-Gill Bridge Montague, Massachusetts Bridges completed in 1938 Bridges over the Connecticut River Bridges in Franklin County, Massachusetts Road bridges in Massachusetts Steel bridges in the United States Truss bridges in the United States Gill, Massachusetts