Bourne Bridge - 1935 - Falmouth, MA
Posted by: silverquill
N 41° 44.864 W 070° 35.369
19T E 367842 N 4622988
The Bourne Bridge spans the Cape Cod Canal at it's south end connecting Buzzards Bay to Falmouth on Cape Cod. Opened to traffic in 1935, this 2,384 ft. steel arch bridge, with a center span of 616 feet, replaced the earlier 1914 narrow bridge.
Waymark Code: WMAHH5
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 01/17/2011
Views: 15
There are only two bridges across the Cape Cod Canal offering access to and from Cape Cod, the Bourne Bridge and it's twin, the Sagamore Bridge about a mile and a half north. The traffic backs up for miles on weekends, especially during the summer.
The Bourne Bridge connects traffic from I-495 and 25 on the mainland to Route 28 in Falmouth.
After the first bridge, completed in 1914 by a private individual proved inadequate and unprofitable, the Army Corps of Engineers was given the task of widening the canal and building new bridges. The canal widening project was a Work Progress Administration (WPA) project. The Corps completed a major renovation of the bridge in 1980, and still is charged with its maintenance.
The four-lane bridge carries 45,000 vehicles per day, though this is probably doubled during the summer and on weekends. There is also a four-foot pedestrian walkway.
The date is mounted within the steel truss in the center of the bridge, one facing each direction. They bear the dates of construction 1933-1935.
For more detailed, here are two good resources.
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visit link)
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visit link)
NOTE: The parking coordinates are for the International House of Pancakes, near and within safe walking distance of the Falmouth end of the bridge.