French King Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge

|bridge_name=French King Bridge aka: FKB

|image=French King Bridge Panorama1.jpg

|image_upright=1.4

|caption=

|official_name=

|carries={{jct|state=MA|MA|2}} pedestrian and vehicular traffic

|crosses=Connecticut River

|locale=Gill, Massachusetts, and Erving, Massachusetts

|maint=[https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-transportation]

|id=E-10-014 or G-04-009

|design=Spandrel-braced steel deck arch bridge

|mainspan={{Convert|460|ft}}

|length={{Convert|782|ft}}

|width={{Convert|47.8|ft}}

|below=

|load=

|clearance=

|height={{convert|140|ft}}{{cite book

|last=Federal Writers' Project

|title=Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HCnn3t_nH_MC&q=french+king+bridge+height&pg=PA453

|series=American Guide Series

|year=1937

|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company

|location=Boston, Massachusetts

|isbn=9781603540209

|pages=453

}}

|traffic=

|begin=September 1931

|complete=1932

|open={{start date and age|1932|09|10|br=y}}

|closed=

|toll=

|coordinates = {{coord|42|35|52|N|72|29|48|W|region:US|display=inline,title}}

}}

The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge{{cite web

|author = Massachusetts Highway Department

|title = French King Bridge

|url = http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=bridge/frenchking&sid=bridgeData

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060509161307/http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=bridge%2Ffrenchking&sid=bridgeData

|publisher = Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation

|location = Boston, Massachusetts

|archive-date = 2006-05-09

|url-status = dead

|access-date = 2009-09-02

|quote = It is of engineering interest as an unusual development of the uncommon three-span, "cantilever arch" bridge type, in that definite reactions were jacked into its steel work at the conclusion of construction, resulting in a bridge which is structurally continuous across four supports.

}} that crosses the Connecticut River on the border between the towns of Erving 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 (MassDOT).

History

File:French King Bridge Aerial.jpg

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 bridge was rebuilt in 1992, and refurbished in 2008–2010.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ebidsourcing.com/processPublicSolSummView.do?action=soltypeCd&docStatus=CLOSED&docViewType=CLOSED&docUserId=202417&doValidateToken=false&docId=108076&soltypeCd=UNIVERSAL |title=Project 603723R contract granted |access-date=2008-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710165548/https://www.ebidsourcing.com/processPublicSolSummView.do?action=soltypeCd&docStatus=CLOSED&docViewType=CLOSED&docUserId=202417&doValidateToken=false&docId=108076&soltypeCd=UNIVERSAL |archive-date=2011-07-10 |url-status=dead }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=603723 |title=Project status page |access-date=2008-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090420213421/http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=603723 |archive-date=2009-04-20 |url-status=dead }}

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.{{cite news |last=Curtis |first=Chris |date=December 11, 2012 |title=Man jumps to his death |url=http://www.recorder.com/news/3303488-95/bridge-police-erving-body |url-status=dead |work=The Recorder |location=Greenfield, Massachusetts |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214161116/http://www.recorder.com/news/3303488-95/bridge-police-erving-body |archive-date=2012-12-14}}

In 2023 nine-foot steel barrier was erected on both side of the bridge by MassDOT. The barriers have all but stopped the need for emergency responders to be called to the bridge for rescue of people in crisis, or recovery of people who have jumped.{{cite news |last=Enerson |first=Linda |date=May 13, 2023 |title=Barriers going up on bridge to prevent suicide jumps |url=https://commonwealthbeacon.org/transportation/barriers-going-up-on-bridge-to-prevent-suicide-jumps/ |work=CommonWealth Beacon}}{{cite news |last=Hoffman |first=Erin-Leigh |date=September 2, 2024 |title=French King Bridge barriers ‘working’ after 2023 installation |url=https://www.gazettenet.com/No-Rescue-or-Recovery-Calls-to-French-King-Bridge-Since-Barriers-Installed-56754628 |work=Daily Hampshire Gazette}}

Name

The name comes from a nearby geographic feature named French King Rock, visible in the middle of the river.{{Cite book |year=2013 |orig-year=1938 |title=The WPA Guide to Massachusetts: The Bay State |url={{Google books |Il_pCAAAQBAJ |pg=PT412 |plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Trinity University Press |page=412 |isbn=978-1595342195}}

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:French_king_bridge_plaque.png|The honorary plaque on the North West side of the bridge

References

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20150930152447/http://www.mhd.state.ma.us//default.asp?pgid=bridge/frenchking&sid=bridgeData Massachusetts Highway Department: French King Bridge] Archived from the [http://www.mhd.state.ma.us//default.asp?pgid=bridge/frenchking&sid=bridgeData original] on 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2025-01-10.
{{Structurae|id=20008089|title=French King Bridge}}
{{HAER |survey=MA-100 |id=ma1418 |title=French King Bridge, Spanning Connecticut River on State Highway 2, Erving, Franklin County, MA |photos=12 |data=37 |cap=1}}

{{Crossings navbox

|structure = Crossings

|place = Connecticut River

|bridge = French King Bridge

|bridge signs = 20px

|upstream = Route 10 bridge, Northfield, Massachusetts

|upstream signs = 20px

|downstream = Gill–Montague Bridge

|downstream signs =

}}

Category:Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States

Category:Bridges completed in 1932