Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge - Conway, MA - Plank Roads on Waymarking.com

The Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge is a lenticular-truss iron bridge, constructed in 1882, that spans the Deerfield River on Bardwell’s Ferry Road, linking Conway and Shelburne, MA. It has a 198-foot span with a wooden plank roadbed 40' above the Deerfield River. The span is supported by lenticular, lens shaped, trusses on the sides of the deck. The bridge was fabricated in iron in 1882 by Corrugated Metal Company which changed its name the following year to the Berlin Iron Bridge Company.

The truss elements were assembled from iron plates that were riveted or bolted together to form three-dimensional girders. Narrow diagonal braces form a lattice pattern that produces a skeletal appearance, characteristic for this type of construction. The Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge has 12 posts within each truss, creating panels 15 feet 2 ½ inches wide. The bridge’s deck is supported by iron floor beams suspended on hangers. The wood plank roadway is nailed to wood stringers than span the space between the iron floor beams. The entire truss system is supported by iron archways fabricated of box girder and lattice beam elements that are mounted on stone abutments.

Bardwell’s Ferry Bridge is the longest remaining lenticular truss span and the oldest surviving example of this type of bridge in Massachusetts. It has been recognized by the Boston Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers as a Massachusetts Engineering Landmark.

A plaque on the archway on the Conway side is inscribed:

Bridge Technical Facts:
Rehabilitation Date - 1995
Main Span Length - 198 feet
Structure Length - 230 feet
Roadway Width - 14 feet