Crosses Providence River Maintained by City of Providence Design Swing bridge Total length 161 m Body of water Providence River Material Steel | Owner City of Providence ID number 9800 Opened 1927 Width 12 m Bridge type Swing bridge | |
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Carries Two lanes of Point Street Similar Iway, Swing bridge, Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, India Point Railroad Bridge, Washington Bridge | ||
The Point Street Bridge is a movable bridge that crosses the Providence River in Providence, Rhode Island, carrying Point Street from the Jewelry District to Wickenden Street at the base of College Hill.
History
The first bridge at this site was built in 1872. It consisted of a swing span 249 feet (76 m) in length with two 145 feet (44 m) shore spans. In 1907, each of the approach spans was divided into three plate-girder spans carried on new granite piers and abutments. However, funding was insufficient to replace the swing span, so its length was merely increased to 284 feet (87 m).
The current bridge is the third at this site. It is also a swing bridge and was built by the Boston Bridge Works Inc. in 1927. The bridge is no longer moveable but fixed in place to allow Point Street traffic to cross. It was last swung open in 1959. The Fox Point Hurricane Barrier, downstream of the Point Street Bridge and completed in 1966, rendered the swing feature of little value, because the Barrier blocks large vessels from traveling upstream before the bridge would.