Androscoggin Swinging Bridge
N 43° 55.054 W 069° 58.356
19T E 421914 N 4863176
Androscoggin Swinging Bridge connects Brunswick and Topsham Maine since the 1890s
Waymark Code: WMZ2
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 09/07/2005
Views: 63
The bridge was built in 1892 by John A. Roebling's Sons Co. of New Jersey, which also was the primary builder of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. The purpose was to provide a way for mill workers in Topsham, who lived in a new housing development called Topsham Heights, to reach the Cabot Mill in Brunswick. It also enabled Catholic French-Canadians to attend church in Brunswick.
The flood of March 1936 washed away the original deck, railings and a wooden safety fence, but the towers and cables survived.
It took the towns two years to rebuild the bridge, which currently consists of two steel towers on concrete foundations and a 332-foot wooden deck suspended on rods hung from cables between the towers. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
URLs for more information:
Newspaper article on repair of the bridge
(
visit link)
Much better photos than I could take
(
visit link)