French King Bridge Explained

Bridge Name:	French King Bridge aka: FKB
Image Upright:	1.4
Carries:	pedestrian and vehicular traffic
Crosses:	Connecticut River
Locale:	Gill, Massachusetts, and Erving, Massachusetts
Maint:	https://www.mass.gov/orgs/massachusetts-department-of-transportation
Id:	E-10-014 or G-04-009
Design:	Spandrel-braced steel deck arch bridge
Height:	^[1]
Begin:	September 1931
Complete:	1932
Coordinates:	42.5978°N -72.4967°W

The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge^[2] that crosses the Connecticut River on the border between the towns of Erving and Gill, Massachusetts, United States. The bridge, part of Massachusetts Route 2, carries automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic and is owned and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT).

History

The French King Bridge (FKB) was opened to traffic on September 10, 1932. It was named the "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" of 1932 by the American Institute of Steel Construction. The bridge was rebuilt in 1992, and refurbished in 2008–2010.^{[3] [4]}

Suicides

In 2009, police said that between 26 and 31 people were known to have jumped off the bridge since its construction in 1932, with only 2 survivors.^[5]

In 2023 nine-foot steel barrier was erected on both side of the bridge by MassDOT. The barriers have all but stopped the need for emergency responders to be called to the bridge for rescue of people in crisis, or recovery of people who have jumped.^{[6] [7]}

Name

The name comes from a nearby geographic feature named French King Rock, visible in the middle of the river.^[8]

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts
• List of crossings of the Connecticut River

External links

• Massachusetts Highway Department: French King Bridge

Notes and References

1. Book: Federal Writers' Project . Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People. American Guide Series. 1937. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, Massachusetts. 9781603540209. 453.
2. Web site: Massachusetts Highway Department . French King Bridge . https://web.archive.org/web/20060509161307/http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=bridge%2Ffrenchking&sid=bridgeData . Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation . . 2006-05-09 . dead . 2009-09-02 . It is of engineering interest as an unusual development of the uncommon three-span, "cantilever arch" bridge type, in that definite reactions were jacked into its steel work at the conclusion of construction, resulting in a bridge which is structurally continuous across four supports..
3. Web site: Project 603723R contract granted . 2008-04-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110710165548/https://www.ebidsourcing.com/processPublicSolSummView.do?action=soltypeCd&docStatus=CLOSED&docViewType=CLOSED&docUserId=202417&doValidateToken=false&docId=108076&soltypeCd=UNIVERSAL . 2011-07-10 . dead .
4. Web site: Project status page . 2008-04-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090420213421/http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=603723 . 2009-04-20 . dead .
5. News: Curtis . Chris . December 11, 2012 . Man jumps to his death . dead . The Recorder . Greenfield, Massachusetts . https://web.archive.org/web/20121214161116/http://www.recorder.com/news/3303488-95/bridge-police-erving-body . 2012-12-14.
6. News: Enerson . Linda . May 13, 2023 . Barriers going up on bridge to prevent suicide jumps . CommonWealth Beacon.
7. News: Hoffman . Erin-Leigh . September 2, 2024 . French King Bridge barriers ‘working’ after 2023 installation . Daily Hampshire Gazette.
8. Book: 2013 . 1938 . [{{Google books |Il_pCAAAQBAJ |pg=PT412 |plainurl=yes}} The WPA Guide to Massachusetts: The Bay State ]. Trinity University Press . 412 . 978-1595342195.