The Dover Bridge

The Dover Bridge. . , The Dover Bridge was first built in 1811 at a ferry crossing. Eventual failure of the wooden structure and damage from storm events during the 19th century caused the bridge to be replaced in 1860 and 1898. By 1908, the State Roads Commission (SRC) was formed and replaced these wooden bridges with iron to support vehicle traffic. The SRC oversaw the construction of the 1912 bridge and its steel replacement in 1933. At that time, agricultural products and seafood were primarily shipped by road rather than waterways., The 650-foot long Dover Bridge, built in 1933, is rare in design, as its three spans combine the features of a movable swing bridge and a metal Warren truss bridge. Both swing bridges and metal truss bridges were preferred for their reliability and affordability despite the slow moving central pivot swing mechanism. The bridge control house is located on the northwest approach rather than the more common midpoint on the bridge. The control house contains the machinery to move the bridge., The 1933 Dover Bridge is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places for its historic and engineering significance. The Maryland Department of Transportation's State Highway Administration (SHA) is preserving the bridge for public education and enjoyment. The new Dover Bridge is the sixth bridge at this location and the first stationary structure., [Captions:] , The fourth Dover Bridge, built in 1912, was in poor condition in 1933. Pile drivers are visible beyond the bridge, as work on the fifth Dover Bridge had started by this time., Facing northwest, this photograph depicts construction progress on the fifth Dover Bridge in October 1933. By this time, all three six-panel Warren truss spans were installed and the southeast-end span's roadbed was finished., Dover Bridge Across Choptank River, Easton, MD. , This postcard features a rendering of the fifth Dover Bridge and may have been produced when the 1933 bridge was opened. The bridge was among nine movable bridges built on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 1920s and 1930s. Metal truss bridges were affordable and durable., The approach span's piers were cast-in-place with wooden forms. In the distance, work boats surrounded one rest pier and the center pivot for the movable span., View towards the northeast showing the Dover Bridge Keeper's house. Although gone today, the house stood on the Choptank River's northern bank with easy access to the bridge when it had to be opened for river traffic., This January 1934 photograph shows the finished fifth Dover Bridge, including the bridge tender's house which contains the controls used to be open and close the bridge's movable span.