Sakonnet River rail bridge

{{Infobox bridge

|bridge_name = Sakonnet River rail bridge

|image = Sakonnet Rail Bridge.JPG

|image_size = 300px

|caption = The former bridge in 2005

|official_name =

|carries = Newport Secondary

|crosses = Sakonnet River

|locale = between Portsmouth and Tiverton

|maint =

|id =

|design = swing bridge

|mainspan =

|length =

|width =

|height =

|load =

|clearance =

|below =

|traffic =

|begin =

|complete =

|open = {{Start date|1899}}

|closed = {{End date|1988}}
(removed 2006–07)

|toll =

|coordinates = {{coord|41.638926|N|71.2132|W|display=inline,title|name=Sakonnet River Rail bridge}}

}}

The Sakonnet River rail bridge was a swing bridge that spanned the Sakonnet River between Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island, and provided the only rail link between Aquidneck Island and the mainland. It was closed in 1988 and removed in 2006–07

History

File:Sakonnet River Railroad Bridge 1910 postcard.jpg

The first drawbridge at the site was built when the Newport and Fall River Railroad opened in 1864. It was replaced with an iron span in 1879.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2GI9AQAAMAAJ&pg=RA15-PA9 |page=9 |date=November 1879 |title=Sixteenth Annual Report of the Old Colony Railroad Co. to the Stockholders |publisher=Old Colony Railroad Company}} A new span was built in 1899 by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and served a succession of railroads; the Providence and Worcester Railroad took over the line in 1982.{{cite web |last1=Schmidt |first1=Gloria |title=Railroad Bridge |url=https://portsmouthhistorynotes.com/2012/04/22/railroad-bridge-3/ |website=Portsmouth History Notes |date=22 April 2012 |access-date=30 June 2021}}

The bridge was removed from service in 1980 after being damaged by an overweight train loaded with military equipment, which severed the rail connection to the island. The swing bridge was left in the open position to allow boat traffic to pass. In 1988 a barge ran into the bridge.{{cite web |last1=Newport County |first1=Rhode Island |title=NH - Sakonnet River Bridge |url=https://bridgehunter.com/ri/newport/bh61284/ |website=Bridgehunter,com: Historic Bridges of the United States |publisher=Historic Bridge Foundation |access-date=30 June 2021}} Since then, equipment for the Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad, a tourist railroad 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.{{cite book |title=The Rail Lines of Southern New England |edition=2 |last=Karr |first=Ronald Dale |publisher=Branch Line Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780942147124 |pages=415–418}}

After the Anthony Road overpass in Portsmouth 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 {{convert|200|ft}} 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 bumper post.{{cite web |last1=St. Louis |first1=Michael |title=Locomotive ride on reactivated north end of Newport Secondary - 6/15/2021 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au4O52mDdXA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Au4O52mDdXA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=South Coast Rail Videos |date=28 June 2021 |access-date=30 June 2021}}{{cbignore}}

References

External links

[https://www.turinogroup.com/project-construction-management/sakonnet-railroad-bridge-demolition/ Bridge demolition project]

Category:Demolished bridges in the United States

Category:Bridges in Newport County, Rhode Island

Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2007

Category:Bridges completed in 1899

Category:Swing bridges in the United States

Category:Railroad bridges in Rhode Island

Category:Old Colony Railroad

Category:Former railway bridges in the United States

Category:1899 establishments in Rhode Island

Category:Steel bridges in the United States