Mount Hope Bridge
| Mount Hope Bridge | |
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Mount Hope Bridge
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| Coordinates | 41°38′23.6″N 71°15′29.5″W / 41.639889°N 71.258194°WCoordinates: 41°38′23.6″N 71°15′29.5″W / 41.639889°N 71.258194°W |
| NRHP Reference # | 76000038 |
| Added to NRHP | 1976 |
| Carries | 2 lanes of  Route 114
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| Crosses | Mount Hope Bay |
| Locale | Portsmouth, Rhode Island and Bristol, Rhode Island |
| Maintained by | Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 6,130 feet (1,868 m) |
| Width | 28 ft (9 m) |
| Height | 285 feet (87 m) |
| Longest span | 1,200 feet (366 m) |
| Clearance below | 135 feet (41 m) |
| History | |
| Construction begin | December 1, 1927 |
| Opened | October 24, 1929 |
41°38′23.59″N 71°15′29.54″W / 41.6398861°N 71.2582056°W
The Mount Hope Bridge is a two-lane suspension bridge spanning the Mount Hope Bay in eastern Rhode Island at one of the narrowest gaps in Narragansett Bay. The bridge connects the Rhode Island towns of Portsmouth and Bristol and is part of Route 114. Its towers are 285 feet (87 m) tall, the length of the main span is 1,200 feet (366 m), and it offers 135 feet (41 m) of clearance over high water. The total length of the bridge is 6,130 feet (1,868 m).
Before the bridge was built, a ferry operated between Bristol and Portsmouth. The 1855 Bristol Ferry Light still remains at the base of the bridge. The Mount Hope Bridge was originally proposed in 1920, and the New Hope Bridge Company was incorporated in 1927, after a few years of resistance from the Rhode Island General Assembly and with the influence of state senator and business leader William Henry Vanderbilt III. Construction began on December 1, 1927, using a design by Robinson & Steinman.
Serious structural problems were discovered four months before it was to open, forcing the contractor to disassemble and reassemble portions of the bridge.
On October 24, 1929, Vanderbilt gave the opening address at the dedication ceremony where a radio link was set up with Washington, D.C.. The $5,000,000 bridge was opened to traffic and, five days later, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 occurred. It was owned by the Mount Hope Bridge Company as a private toll bridge, with the initial toll costing 60 cents one way, and $1 for a round-trip. By 1931, the Bridge company went bankrupt, and prominent local brewer Rudolf F. Haffenreffer acquired the bridge in receivership.
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