Bourne Highway Bridge
Bridge in Bourne, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bourne Highway Bridge was a bascule bridge in the town of Bourne, Massachusetts, that spanned the Cape Cod Canal. It was in use from 1911 until 1935.
Bourne Highway Bridge | |
|---|---|
Bourne Highway Bridge, c. 1911 | |
| Coordinates | 41.7448°N 70.6009°W |
| Carried | Perry Avenue |
| Crossed | Cape Cod Canal |
| Locale | Bourne, Massachusetts (Buzzards Bay-Cape Cod) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Scherzer double-leaf rolling lift bridge |
| Total length | 729 feet (222 m) |
| Width | 30 feet (9.1 m) |
| Longest span | 160 feet (49 m) |
| Clearance below | 41 feet (12 m) |
| History | |
| Construction start | August 10, 1910 |
| Construction end | June 1911 |
| Closed | June 22, 1935 |
| Demolished | December 1935 |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Bourne Highway Bridge | |
| References | |
| [1] | |
History
Work on the bridge began on August 10, 1910, during construction of the Cape Cod Canal.[2] The bridge abutments were completed by December.[3] In April 1911, the bridge was reported as being nearly completed.[4] Reports at that time noted that once the new bridge was opened, an existing bridge over the Monument River in Bourne would be closed.[5] On May 20, the bridge was physically opened (lifted) for the first time.[6] In late June, the bridge was described as "ready", with plans being made for its immediate opening.[7]
In May 1923, two people in an automobile crashed through fencing on the bridge and into the canal.[8] The driver, Professor William Wright of Harvard, drowned, while his daughter was rescued.[9] In March 1935, a driver from the West Roxbury neighborhood of Boston survived a 35-foot (11 m) drop in his car after it skidded off the approach to the bridge and landed at the edge of the canal.[10]
The greatest amount of traffic to cross the bridge was 14,000 cars, recorded one day during the summer of 1934.[11] The bridge was removed from service on June 22, 1935, with the opening of the new Bourne Bridge and Sagamore Bridge.[12] As of the end of 1935, the bridge was being disassembled and removed.[13]
Circa 2008, volunteers and residents of the Buzzards Bay section of Bourne created a scenic viewpoint named "Three Mile Look" on the former site of the bridge on the mainland side of the canal.[14]