Arch Bridge (Bellows Falls)

Arch Bridge
1905 arch bridge in Bellows Falls, Vermont over the Connecticut River
Coordinates	43°08′17″N 72°26′54″W / 43.1380°N 72.4484°W / 43.1380; -72.4484
Carries	Vehicles, pedestrians
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Bellows Falls, Vermont to North Walpole, New Hampshire
Characteristics
Design	three-hinged through arch bridge[1] plus a bowstring arch truss[2] (1st) 4-span girder bridge[2] (2nd)
Material	Steel (both)
Total length	644 feet 8 inches (196.49 m)[2] 540 feet (160 m) (main span over river) 104 feet 8 inches (31.90 m) (over rail track)[2] (1st)
Width	32 feet (9.8 m)[3][2] (1st)
Height	70 feet (21 m) above the roadway[2] (1st)
Longest span	540 feet (160 m)[4] (1st)
No. of spans	2 (1st) 4 (2nd)
Piers in water	0 (1st) 3 (2nd)
History
Designer	Joseph R. Worcester[3]
Constructed by	Lewis F. Shoemaker & Co.[2][5] (1st)
Construction start	1904 (1st)
Construction end	1905 (1st) 1984[2] (2nd)
Closed	1971 (1st)
Location

The Bellows Falls Arch Bridge was a three-hinged steel through arch bridge over the Connecticut River between Bellows Falls, Vermont and North Walpole, New Hampshire. It was structurally significant as the longest arch bridge in the United States when it was completed in 1905.^[1]

The bridge was built to circumvent an existing toll bridge and prevent people from using the Boston and Maine Railroad bridge, a practice the railroad preferred to discourage.^[3]