View source for Turners Falls Road Bridge

{{Infobox bridge
| name                = Turners Falls Road Bridge
| image               = IMG_3952-Turner-Falls-Road-bridge-south-end.jpg
| image_size =300px
| caption             = Upstream side of the bridge with the river fully diverted away
| official_name       = White Bridge
| carries             = vehicular and pedestrian traffic
| crosses             = [[Connecticut River]]
| locale              = [[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]] and [[Montague, Massachusetts|Montague]], [[Franklin County, Massachusetts|Franklin County]], [[Massachusetts]]
| maint               = [[Massachusetts Highway Department|MassHighway]]
| id                  = G1200212RMHDNBI
| designer            = 
| design              = Stringer/Multi-beam or Girder
| material            = Steel (and concrete)
| spans               = 6
| pierswater          = 5
| mainspan            = 
| length              = {{Convert|135.9|m|ft|1}}
| width               = {{Convert|6.1|m|ft|1}}
| height              = 
| load                = 51.5 metric tons
| clearance           = 
| below               = 
| traffic             = 10,800 (2003)
| begin               = 
| complete            = 
| open                = 1936
| closed              = 
| toll                = 
| coordinates         = {{coord|42|36|33|N|72|33|41|W|region:US-MA|display=inline,title}}
}}
The '''Turners Falls Road Bridge''' (officially '''White Bridge''') is a concrete and steel road bridge over the [[Connecticut River]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Massachusetts]]. It carries Turners Falls Road and connects the town center of [[Greenfield, Massachusetts|Greenfield]] and the village of [[Turners Falls, Massachusetts|Turners Falls]] (in the town of [[Montague, Massachusetts|Montague]]).

== History ==
The current bridge is the second on this site.  Previously, a suspension bridge constructed in 1871 and known as the "Lower Suspension Bridge" was located at the site.<ref name=whittlesey>{{cite book
  | last = Whittlesey
  | first = Charles W.
  | title = Crossing and Re-Crossing the Connecticut River
  | publisher = The Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor Company
  | year = 1938
  | location = New Haven, Connecticut
  | pages = 25
  }}</ref> The old bridge was constructed with funds from the towns of Greenfield and Montague and cost about $36,000.<ref name=montague>[https://books.google.com/books?id=sh9CqaP8bkEC&pg=PA31 P.S. Miller and K.J. Scott, ''Montague''], (Arcadia, 2000)</ref> A road connecting the bridge to Greenfield center was laid out by the following year.<ref name=greenfield>[https://books.google.com/books?id=9scMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA406 F.M. Thompson, L.J.C. Kellogg, and C.S. Severance, ''History of Greenfield''], (T. Morey and Son, 1954)</ref> The bridge was constructed primarily to allow laborers in Greenfield to easily go to the newly developing village of Turners Falls.<ref name=montague/> The previous bridge was severely damaged in the 1936 flood and the current bridge was constructed soon after.<ref name=whittlesey/>

In the 1920s, [[Route 2 (Massachusetts)|Route 2]] (former [[New England Route 7]]) originally left Greenfield via Turners Falls Road, crossing the old suspension bridge into the village of Turners Falls. Route 2 left Turners Falls via Millers Falls Road. In 1932, a more modern bridge capable of handling the increased automobile traffic, the [[French King Bridge]], opened further upstream and Route 2 was relocated to its modern alignment along French King Highway.<ref>[http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/default.asp?pgid=bridge/frenchking&sid=bridgeData Massachusetts Highway Department, French King Bridge]</ref> The former alignment through Turners Falls was designated as [[Route 2A (Massachusetts)|Route 2A]]. The Route 2A designation remained on Turners Falls Road until the 1960s.<ref>Topographic maps show the Route 2A still marked in 1954. A 1972 map no longer shows Route 2A through Turners Falls.</ref>

The [[Massachusetts Highway Department]] started a rehabilitation project in 2010, which is, as of May 2015, almost done.<ref>[http://www.mhd.state.ma.us/ProjectInfo/Main.asp?ACTION=ViewProject&PROJECT_NO=601585# MassHighway project page]</ref>

== See also ==
*[[List of crossings of the Connecticut River]]

== References ==
* [http://nationalbridges.com/nbi_record.php?StateCode=25&struct=G1200212RMHDNBI Bridge Inventory Data] on NationalBridges.com

== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.memorialhall.mass.edu/collection/itempage.jsp?itemid=15763&img=0&level=advanced&transcription=0 Image of the original Lower Suspension Bridge]

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = [[List of crossings of the Connecticut River|Crossings]]
|place           = [[Connecticut River]]
|bridge          = Turners Falls Road Bridge
|bridge signs    = 
|upstream        = [[Gill–Montague Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = 
|downstream      = [[General Pierce Bridge]]
|downstream signs = 
}}

[[Category:Bridges over the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Montague, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1871]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1936]]
[[Category:Bridges in Franklin County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:Girder bridges in the United States]]