The following advertisement appeared in today's Providence Journal. It just struck me a funny that, while some of us are fighting to keep the Old Colony & Newport Railway from being shut down, the State of Rhode Island is selling off the bridge.

I understand that it is not repairable as a swing bridge. Won't it be nice if someone could find a home for it! There are photos of the bridge on my website www.stacyhouse.com under Old Colony Railway / OCNRR Photos.


HISTORIC BRIDGE OFFERING
Sakonnet River Railroad Bridge No. 450

Portsmouth and Tiverton, RI

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation [RIDOT] invites written proposals to relocate, rehabilitate, use and maintain the superstructure of the Sakonnet River Railroad Bridge No. 450. The bridge is being removed by RIDOT. Rehabilitating and maintaining the bridge on existing location is not feasible. Per Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) outlining mitigation measures has been ratified by Federal and State transportation and historic preservation agencies. This notice is provided in accordance with Federal Highway Administration [FHWA] requirements to offer historic bridges for relocation prior to demolition.

Constructed in 1899, the bridge formerly carried the Old Colony & Newport Railroad line over the Sakonnet River between Portsmouth and Tiverton, Rhode Island. The Sakonnet River Railroad Bridge was determined eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places through consensus between the FHWA and the Rhode Island Historical Preservation& Heritage Commission on June 7, 2000. The structure is comprised of two Baltimore truss spans: a fixed span 105 feet long and a swing span that is 251 feet long; both spans are 29 feet wide. The swing span contains a machinery house that once housed the power system for moving the span. The Sakonnet River Railroad is historically significant as a fine example of advance truss technology with complex mechanical components and it is one of the two remaining swing bridges in Rhode Island. It was fabricated by Pennsylvania Steel Company, a nationally-prominent bridge construction firm in Steelton, PA.

More information at www.stacyhouse.com

Photographed by Peter Martin, March 15, 2001.
Added to the photo archive by Peter Martin, January 6, 2005.
Railroad: Old Colony & Newport Railway.

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