Canton Viaduct - Canton, MA - Engineering Landmarks on Waymarking.com

The plaque reads:

"Canton Viaduct
"Constructed in 1835

"National Register
"of Historic Places
"Placed by the Canton Historical Commission
"Dedicated on July 4, 1993

"National Historic
"Civil Engineering Landmark

"Designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers
"Dedicated in 1999

"The Canton Viaduct is one of the two oldest surviving multiple arch stone railroad bridges still in active mainline use in the United States"

The plaque is prominetly located in a grassy (and bushy) area where the Canton River meets Neponset Street. The coordinates are centered here.

There is a second item to the left that is carved stone slabs with the names of the designers and builders.

Statistics and Alterations Made (from the ASCE web site)
615 feet long, 70 feet high, and 22 feet wide. It originally carried a single track. In 1860, a second track was added. In 1952, a hole in one of the archways was made to allow automobiles through (it's barely wide enough for two lanes). In the 1990s extensive rennovations were made to the top of the viaduct to prepare it for high speed electric train service as part of the Northeast Corridor Route (at that point the New England portion had not been electrified). Despite these rennovations, the viaduct structure remains as it was originally built.

While you're in the area, go into Canton Center on Washington Street. Where the Canton River crosses the street, there is a rock with a listing of industries that used to be there engraved on it. The details of this waymark are here (visit link) .

Location: The Canton Viaduct is located in Canton Junction, a village of Canton, MA. The bridge supports railroad tracks owned by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA). Neponset Street passes through one of the arches, next to its junction with Walpole Street. Type of structure/site: Bridge Date of Construction: 1835 Engineer/Architect/Builder etc.: Construction was supervised by Chief Engineer, Major General William Gibbs McNeill, a graduate of West Point Military Academy. Major General George Washington Whistler served as assistant and consulting engineer on the project. Engineering Organization Listing: American Society of Civil Engineers Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Web Site: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
The listed coordinates for this waymark must be personally visited.

Please submit at least one ORIGINAL PHOTO of the structure, preferably one showing a different aspect, angle, season, etc. from the original waymark.

Give the DATE of your visit and any comments or additional information that will help other visitors enjoy this site.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   10/01/2017 NorStar visited it 05/05/2013 Chasing Blue Sky visited it 05/19/2012 Misplaced Manatee visited it

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