Travel New England: Bardwell's Ferry Bridge

In October 2006, I took a roadtrip through Western Massachusetts. On my way back home towards Albany, I had stopped at a covered bridge near Conway to take some photos and started up a conversation with an artist that was doing a painting of a church across the street. I told him about my trip and what I had seen that day. The gentleman then told me of a historic bridge over the Deerfield River that was nearby. He told me that I needed to take a few backroads but it was worth the drive.

He was correct. At the bottom of a quiet country road was the Bardwell's Ferry Bridge. A historic lenticular truss bridge that was built in 1882 and replaced a wooden bridge that once crossed here. The 230 foot long pin connected bridge was a beautiful sight mixed in with all the colors of fall.

The largest span of the bridge is just under 193 feet and from there are magnificent views of the Deerfield River and of a Springfield Terminal rail bridge.

The bridge was built the Corrugated Metal Company which was a predecessor of the Berlin Iron Company. The bridge is one of the few remaining bridges of this style built by the East Berlin, Connecticut company. The bridge was rehabilitated in 1995 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

Bardwell's Ferry is also a popular launch spot for kayakers and other paddle boats. This unplanned detour is one of my fondest memories of my time living in the Northeast. I easily could have stayed here for hours enjoying the soothing sounds of the Deerfield River, the smells of the leaves, and just the overall peaceful setting. I hope to get back here again someday.

All photos taken by post author - October 2006.

Comments

Trimmer Springs Road (Fresno County)

Trimmer Springs Road is an approximately forty-mile rural highway located in Fresno County. The corridor begins near in California State Route 180 in Centerville and extends to Blackrock Road at the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada range near the Pacific Gas & Electric Company town of Balch Camp. The roadway is named after the former Trimmer Springs Resort and was originally constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume. Trimmer Springs Road was heavily modified and elongated after construction of Pine Flat Dam broke ground in 1947. Part 1; the history of Trimmer Springs Road Much of the original alignment of Trimmer Springs Road was constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume. The Kings River Lumber Company had been established in 1888 in the form of a 30,000-acre purchase of forest lands in Converse Basin. This purchase lied immediately west of Grant Grove and came to be known as "Millwood." The co...

When was Ventura Avenue east of downtown Fresno renamed to Kings Canyon Road? (California State Route 180)

California State Route 180 was one of the original Sign State Routes designated in August 1934. The highway east of Fresno originally utilized what was Ventura Avenue and Dunlap Road to reach what was then General Grant National Park. By late year 1939 the highway was extended through the Kings River Canyon to Cedar Grove. In 1940 General Grant National Park would be expanded and rebranded as Kings Canyon National Park. The Kings Canyon Road designation first appeared in publications circa 1941 when the California State Route 180 bypass of Dunlap was completed. Kings Canyon Road ultimately would replace the designation of Dunlap Road from Dunlap to Centerville and Ventura Avenue west to 1st Street in Fresno. The Kings Canyon Road would remain largely intact until March 2023 when the Fresno Council designated Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Cesar Chavez Boulevard was designated over a ten-mile corridor over what was Kings Canyon Road, remaini...

Interstate 99 at 30

When it comes to the entirety of the Interstate Highway System, Interstate 99, when fully completed, is nothing more than 161 miles of a roughly 48,000-mile system (0.3% of total length). Yet, to more than just a handful of people, the number '99' rubs them the wrong way. Interstate 99 follows the path of two US Highway Routes - US 220 from the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford north to Interstate 80 and then to US 15/Interstate 180 in Williamsport. It then follows US 15 from Williamsport north to Interstate 86 in Corning, New York. Interstate 99 runs with US 220 through much of Central Pennsylvania. (Doug Kerr) US 220 from Cumberland, Maryland to Interstate 80 and US 15 north of Williamsport were designated part of the Appalachian Highway System in 1965. Construction to upgrade both corridors progressed steadily but slowly. In 1991, the two corridors were included as a National High Priority Corridor. The route from Cumberland to Corning consisted of High P...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog