Bridge from Portsmouth to Tiverton, RI?
Ron Newman
Can someone quickly tell me if there is still a usable bridge from
Portsmouth to Tiverton, Rhode Island?
I'm not referring to the Route 24 freeway, but to a minor road that
some maps show crossing the Sakonnet River about a mile south of
the Route 24 bridge.
I plan to bicycle in this area tomorrow and it's important for me
to know if I should count on there being a bridge in this location.
My AAA map shows a bridge here, but several online maps (Vicinity,
MapQuest) show no bridge.
--
Ron Newman rne...@thecia.net
http://www2.thecia.net/users/rnewman/
Rich Carreiro
In article <rnewman-ya0240800...@snews2.zippo.com>,
Ron Newman <rne...@thecia.net> wrote:
>Can someone quickly tell me if there is still a usable bridge from
>Portsmouth to Tiverton, Rhode Island?
>
>I'm not referring to the Route 24 freeway, but to a minor road that
>some maps show crossing the Sakonnet River about a mile south of
>the Route 24 bridge.
There are only three bridges onto Aquidneck Island:
* The Sakonnet Bridge, which carries RI24 onto the island.
* The Mount Hope Bridge, which carries RI114 onto the island.
* The Newport Bridge, which carries RI138 onto the island.
The "minor road" you are talking about is the remnants of the Old
Stone Bridge. There has been no bridge there for at least 25 years,
and I'm pretty sure significantly longer than that. The bridge
survived the 1938 and 1954 hurricanes but was eventually removed,
probably when the Sakonnet Bridge was complete, because since it was a
drawbridge and there is lots of sailboat traffic in the area, it
must've been a royal pain.
--
Rich Carreiro
rlc...@animato.pn.com
P5-100/RedHat Linux 4.1
Ron Newman
In article <19970912205...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,
garf...@aol.com (Garfong3) wrote:
> The only bridge crossing the Sakonnet River (Tiverton to Portsmouth) is
> the Sakonnet Bridge.(rte 24) The bridge you are seeing on your map just
> south of the Sakonnet Bridge is the "Old Stone Bridge" which was wiped out
> in a hurricane years ago. Now it's just called the "Old Half A Bridge"
> since the a portion of the bridge still stands on either side of the river.
I'd love to learn the exact history of this, if anyone knows it.
> The sakonnet bridge is a very small bridge and suitable to cross on a
> bike. I see people doing it all the time.
Well, I crossed it on my bicycle, but I wouldn't say that the bridge was
either "small" nor particularly "suitable" -- a lot of high-speed traffic,
and no shoulder. Not that I had any alternative, but it wasn't the
most pleasant ride, and I feared that I'd be hit if I stopped to look
at the nice view.
Tiger
On 23 Sep 1997, Garfong3 wrote:
> Date: 23 Sep 1997 01:51:37 GMT
> From: Garfong3 <garf...@aol.com>
> Newsgroups: alt.rhode_island
> Subject: Re: Bridge from Portsmouth to Tiverton, RI?
>
> Hmmm...... I guess one mans idea of suitable is different than another mans.
>
> Someone else had posted to this group that the bridge had been removed
> when the new bridge was built as opposed to wiped out by a hurricane. I'm
> not really sure which it is. I had heard many times that it was taken out
> in during hurricane carol, but I'm a youngster. I wasn't around when it was
> removed/destroyed.
>
>
Actually, the Old Stone bridge was wiped out by the hurricane of 1938 (or
39??) anyway, it is quite a site to see if you can get your hands on some
old pictures of Tiverton. I don't know when the Sakonnet River Bridge was
built, but it was definatly after the Old Stone Bridge was washed away.
hope this helps! any history buffs out there who can clarify all this?
former Tivertonian,
Kris
mcar...@sprynet.com
I was born in 1946 and have lived in Tiverton since. I rode over the
Stone Bridge many times in the back seat of my parents' car and
remember the traffic backed up for miles when they opened it on a
Sunday afternoon. I believe it went out in Hurricane Carol. It was a
steel draw bridge. The original "stone" bridge may be the one that
was wiped out in '38.
-Mike-
Bob Kendall
Tiger wrote:
>
> Actually, the Old Stone bridge was wiped out by the hurricane of 1938 (or
> 39??) anyway, it is quite a site to see if you can get your hands on some
> old pictures of Tiverton. I don't know when the Sakonnet River Bridge was
> built, but it was definatly after the Old Stone Bridge was washed away.
>
--
Bob Kendall Providence, R.I. bobke...@ids.net