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 tall, the length of the main span is , and it offers of clearance over high water. The total length of the bridge is .

History

A ferry operated between Bristol and Portsmouth before the bridge was built, and the 1855 Bristol Ferry Light still remains at the base of the bridge. The Mount Hope Bridge was 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.

thumb|250px|left|View of Mount Hope Bridge

Vanderbilt gave the opening address at the dedication ceremony on October 24, 1929, where a radio link was set up with Washington, D.C. The $5 million bridge was opened to traffic just five days before 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. The Bridge company went bankrupt in 1931, and prominent local brewer Rudolf F. Haffenreffer acquired it in receivership.

It remained the longest suspension bridge in New England for 40 years, until the Claiborne Pell Bridge opened a few miles to the south in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1971, the Mount Hope Bridge was considered for inclusion as part of the never-built Interstate 895. This plan would have required the construction of a parallel span, but the entire I-895 plan was eventually dropped due to community opposition throughout the projected route.

The Mount Hope Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. In 2023, the Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority disputed whether bicycles were ever allowed on the Mount Hope Bridge, and told the Portsmouth Times that bicycles were only allowed during special events. Bicycling advocates disputed the RIBTA's claim, and noted to the Times that other state agencies had listed the bridge as a bicycle route. with the possibility of turning Thames Street into a shared street.

The railing along the bridge is only , and there is a dedicated coalition called Bridging the Gap for Safety & Healing which advocates the installation of physical safety and suicide-prevention barriers on Mount Hope Bridge, Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge, Jamestown Verrazzano Bridge, and Sakonnet River Bridge.

Bridge tokens

The Mount Hope Bridge was purchased by the State of Rhode Island in 1954, with the company in receivership. The bridge's toll was eventually reduced from 60 cents to 30 cents for a one-way trip. It was finally discontinued in 1998, after calculations indicated that the toll was not high enough to cover the cost of collecting it.

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Image:Mount_Hope_Bridge_token_(front_&_back).jpg|Mount Hope Bridge one fare token, front and back

Image:Mount Hope Bridge commemorative medal (1929).jpg|Commemorative medal (front and back) struck in 1929, honoring the opening of the Mount Hope Bridge

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See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Bristol County, Rhode Island
  • List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island

References

  • Photograph of Mount Hope Bridge by Kathleen Murtagh
  • Mount Hope Bridge page on BostonRoads.com
  • Mount Hope Bridge Records from the Rhode Island State Archives
  • Mount Hope Bridge building, opening and maintenance photographs from the Rhode Island State Archives
  • Report of the Mount Hope Toll Bridge Commission from the Rhode Island State Archives