Blue Heron Bridge - Charles River Walkway - Watertown-Newton, MA - Arch Bridges on Waymarking.com

Spanning the the Newton-Watertown boundary along the Charles River is the Blue Heron Bridge, a pedestrian suspension bridge.

The bridge is located on the west side of Watertown. There are several ways to get to it. The closest entrance is off Albemarle Street in Newton; however, I'm not sure about parking along that road. The best way is to park at the Stop & Shop supermarket off Pleasant Street, then walk in through one of the two entrances off the parking lot (there was no sign visible). At the main trail turn left and walk about a quarter mile to the bridge.

The bridge is about 140 feet long and it at an angle to the river. The bridge has two arches joined by cross braces at certain points. From the arches cables are suspended to a metal platform, which supports the deck. The type of bridge as told to me was a Bowstring Arch, also called a Tie Arch Bridge according to another source.

I couldn't find a lot of information about the bridge, for instance the builder. It was built in 2004 at a cost of $2.2 million dollars at the time.

At the time of visit, the bridge was being well used as several parties walked on the bridge, sometimes stopping to watch the river, including the family of mallards and the fish.

Sources:

Urban Planet (Watertown Gets New Bridge):
(visit link)

Boston.com (Going with the Flow):
(visit link)

Newton Conservators (Guide 1):
(visit link)

Tufts University (Bridge Library - Tied Arch):
(visit link)

Length of bridge: 140 ft Height of bridge: 40 ft What type of traffic does this bridge support?: Pedestrian What kind of gap does this bridge cross?: The Charles River Date constructed: 1/1/2004 Is the bridge still in service for its original purpose?: Yes Name of road or trail the bridge services: Charles River Walkway Location: Between the cities of Newton and Watertown

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