Fore River Bridge, Route 3A, spanning Fore River, Weymouth, Norfolk County, MA

Significance: Route 3A has been the main route to the South Shore, ever since the Hingham and Quincy Bridge and Turnpike Corporation was formed in 1808. A swing bridge was built here in 1901-1902, but proved a bottleneck, both to shipping, with the shipyard upstream, and to extensive South Shore traffic. The new bridge, with a total length of 2,216 feet, and a 60 foot roadway, included a 175-foot draw span, of the double leaf rolling lift type, designed to open or close in one and a half minutes. It was designed and built by the Massachusetts Department of Public Works under the direction of George Delano, Chief Engineer, and George Harkness, Bridge Engineer. Desmond and Lord were consulting architects responsible for the ornamental Art-Deco appearance of the pylons, which were faced in granite and trimmed with copper detailing. The bridge won an Honorable Mention in 1936 from the American Institute of Steel Engineers.
Survey number: HAER MA-36
Building/structure dates: 1936 Initial Construction