Crawford Street Bridge (Providence, Rhode Island) Explained

Crawford Street Bridge
Coordinates:	41.8242°N -71.4079°W
Official Name:	Robert E. Rowan, P.E. Bridge^[1]
Crosses:	Providence River
Locale:	Providence, Rhode Island
Traffic:	automobiles and pedestrians
Open:	1873
Rebuilt:	1930, 1982

The Crawford Street Bridge was a concrete and steel bridge over the Providence River in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It was originally built from 1873 to 1904 and then rebuilt starting in 1930. Composed of a set of interconnected bridges that span the river, it had a total area of over 3acres and covered nearly a quarter of a mile of the river. At 1147feet wide,^[2] it was the world's widest bridge, and listed in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records.^[3]

As part of a downtown redevelopment project, the massive bridge was substantially demolished in 1982, replaced with several narrower bridges for individual streets and exposing the Providence River to create a more pedestrian-friendly cityscape.^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Crawford Street Bridge . Rhode Island Department of State . State of Rhode Island . 6 October 2019 . In 2000 the Rhode Island General Assembly passed legislation, at the request of then–State Representative Cicilline, Representative Paul Moura, and Representative Thomas Slater, formally changing the name of the bridge from the Crawford Street Bridge to the Robert E. Rowan, P.E. Bridge.
2. News: Providence Losing a Bridge to Gain a Riverbank . September 1, 1985 . The New York Times .
3. Web site: Crawford Street Bridge. Office of the State of Rhode Island Secretary of State. 6 April 2014.
4. Book: Windham, Ryder. You Know You're in Rhode Island When.... 2006. Globe Pequot. 0762739401. 65–103.