Belden G. Bly Bridge originally known as the Fox Hill Bridge was built in 1912 and renamed in 1985 in honor of former member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

Belden Bly. At the time of its demolition, the bridge was the oldest

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

still in use as well as the oldest Scherzer Rolling Lift under the supervision of the

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

Department of Public Works.

Streetcar A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some include s ...

tracks originally ran across the bridge. This bridge closed for several months for repairs on 15 December 2008. The MBTA bus routes 424, 450, 455 and 459 had their routes detoured through Austin Square in West Lynn through Ballard Street in Saugus. While the bridge was scheduled to be closed for replacement starting in early 2013, problems with the temporary cable-lift draw bridge delayed the project significantly. (On June 3, 2013, a hinge failed on the temporary draw span during what was supposed to have been final testing.) The temporary bridge was finally opened on Nov. 9, 2013, and the 1912 span closed permanently. Construction began on the replacement bridge (also to be named the Belden G. Bly Bridge) in 2020. The replacement bridge will be of a single leaf

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

design. As of January 2023, the temporary bridge is expected to remain in use until March 2025, at which time the replacement bridge is expected to be completed.

External links

Belden Bly Bridge Replacement project photoGoogle Street View showing the Scherzer Rolling Lift mechanism"Belden Bly could be bridge to past", ItemLive
*https://web.archive.org/web/20070829002347/http://hodge.iiiii.nu/industry---photos/bridges.html

References

Buildings and structures in Saugus, Massachusetts Bridges completed in 1912 Bridges in Essex County, Massachusetts Road bridges in Massachusetts 1912 establishments in Massachusetts Cantilever bridges in the United States {{Massachusetts-bridge-struct-stub