French King Bridge

The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge^[2] 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).

French King Bridge

French King Bridge aka: FKB
Coordinates	42°35′52″N 72°29′48″W
Carries	Route 2 pedestrian and vehicular traffic
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Gill, Massachusetts, and Erving, Massachusetts
Maintained by
ID number	E-10-014 or G-04-009
Characteristics
Design	Spandrel-braced steel deck arch bridge
Total length	782 feet (238 m)
Width	47.8 feet (14.6 m)
Height	140 feet (43 m)[1]
Longest span	460 feet (140 m)
History
Construction start	September 1931
Construction end	1932
Opened	September 10, 1932; 92 years ago (1932-09-10)
Location

History

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.^[3][4]

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.^[5]

Name

The name comes from a nearby geographic feature named French King Rock, visible in the middle of the river.^[6]

Image gallery

• 
  A view north from the top of the bridge during summer (August 2007)
• 
  A view from the bridge to Connecticut River at Autumn
• 
  A view of the road surface and guard rails
• 
  The southwest lamp post
• 
  Guardrails on the north side of the bridge
• 
  The honorary plaque on the North West side of the bridge

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts
• List of crossings of the Connecticut River

References

1. Federal Writers' Project (1937). Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People. American Guide Series. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. 453. ISBN 9781603540209.
2. Massachusetts Highway Department. "French King Bridge". Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2009-09-02. 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.
3. "Project 603723R contract granted". Archived from the original on 2011-07-10. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
4. "Project status page". Archived from the original on 2009-04-20. Retrieved 2008-04-08.
5. (subscription required)
6. The WPA Guide to Massachusetts: The Bay State. Trinity University Press. 2013 [1938]. p. 412. ISBN 978-1595342195.

External links

• Massachusetts Highway Department: French King Bridge
• French King Bridge at Structurae
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. MA-100, "French King Bridge, Spanning Connecticut River on State Highway 2, Erving, Franklin County, MA", 12 photos, 37 data pages, 1 photo caption page