The French King Bridge is the three-span "cantilever arch" bridge 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.

French King Bridge

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.

French King Bridge

Name

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

French King Bridge

Image gallery

See also

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

References

External links

Massachusetts Highway Department: French King Bridge

Open-spandrel deck arch bridges in the United States

Bridges completed in 1932

Bridges over the Connecticut River

Bridges in Franklin County, Massachusetts

Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts

Road bridges in Massachusetts

Steel bridges in the United States

Cantilever bridges in the United States

Gill, Massachusetts