User:Preidy485/frenchkingbridge

Introduction
The French King Bridge of Erving, Massachusetts serves as a means of crossing the Connecticut River along a high gorge. The bridge which was finished in 1932 and was built as a means of bypassing a dangerous section of Mohawk Trail Highway, which snaked its way through the villages of Miller and Turners Falls. The French King Bridge was renovated in 1992, to repair aging parts and modernize elements, but mostly it was to preserve the original design of the bridge. The bridge would be considered structural art because it meets the criteria of an efficient, economical, and elegant structural design.



Scientific Qualities:
The French King Bridge uses steel in its three arches to span the total 782 feet. The main arch of the bridge spans the Connecticut River, where the two side arches start from their respective abutments and then meet down to the supports shared with the center arch. The use of steel was an efficient use of material for the time, during renovations it was mostly the concrete elements of the bridge that were in need of repair or to be modernized. The bridge has to handle the highway traffic that it was intended for. The Mohawk Highway in this section of Massachusetts does not see as much demand as other highways located in the commonwealth would experience. There is a large amount mills in the area although, which rely heavily on trucking in and out materials, which do use this particular bridge. The bridge carries these loads by transferring the load through compression in the steel arches and transfers it all into either the abutments or the supports of the center arch. Also, the bridge is subjected to the winds from the sides, which the bridge uses a “K-braced lateral system” to handle these lateral forces.

Social Considerations:
The bridge was designed and created out of need to bypass a stretch of the Mohawk Trail Highway back in the 1930’s. The stretch of road that it bypassed cuts through two towns and was considered rather dangerous because of the steep grades and numerous tight turns. The bridge was an important social need to allow a safer passage through this section of the state. The total cost of the project in the 1930’s amounted to about $390,000 and was completed in one year. The bridge is a part of the Mohawk Trail Highway, which is also known as Route 2. Besides the Mass Pike this is the only other highway that goes east to west across the commonwealth, so this bridge does provide an important economic function for not only people of the area but as well as the entire commonwealth.

Symbolism:
The French King Bridge was named so because of its location of none other than The French King Rock. The bridge was awarded the most beautiful bridge of its type after it was completed in 1932. The designs called for making the most out of the rocky gorge that it was to cross, where it does not have any supports that enter into the Connecticut River giving it an elegant and sleek feel. During construction they used a cantilever method, to again prevent the need of false work in the river. During the bridge renovations in 1992, extra attention was used to preserve the original concrete fascia and they also added another set of guard rails to protect the original railings.