Benedict Bridge
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Benedict Bridge is a bridge in Maryland crossing the Patuxent River and connecting Calvert County, Maryland with Charles County, Maryland. It is one of two major crossings of the Patuxent in the Southern Maryland region, with the other bridge being the Thomas Johnson Bridge in Solomons, Maryland, approximately 20 miles to the south.
While the bridge has never received a formal name or designation, the local population commonly refers to it as the Benedict Bridge, due to its connection with the small town of Benedict, Maryland on the western side of the Patuxent River.
Maryland Route 231 is the highway which utilizes the Benedict Bridge. The bridge itself is approximately one-half mile long and two lanes wide. At the center of the bridge there is a small swing bridge which opens sporadically to allow boat traffic through.[1]
The bridge itself was built in 1950[2][3][4] and, prior to the opening of the Thomas Johnson Bridge in 1978, it was the only means of connecting Calvert County with the other two counties in Southern Maryland.[5] Although the bridge is still functional and shows no signs of structural defects or advanced age after a 2002 facelift, there is ongoing debate as to whether to replace the current span with a newer bridge to better accommodate the quickly growing Southern Maryland region.
[edit] References
- ^ Movable Bridges on State Maintained Highways. Maryland Department of Transportation — State Highway Administration (January 2007).
- ^ Legler, Dixie & Highsmith, Carol (2002), Historic Bridges of Maryland, Crownsville, Md.: Maryland Historic Trust, pp. 127, ISBN 1-878399-80-2, <http://www.sha.state.md.us/KeepingCurrent/maintainRoadsBridges/bridges/oppe/bridgebook/bridge_book.asp>
- ^ SHA's Historic Bridge Inventory 1809-1947, State Highway Administration - Maryland, <http://www.sha.state.md.us/KeepingCurrent/maintainRoadsBridges/bridges/oppe/hist_bridge_inv1809_1947.pdf>
This source lists data used in Historic Bridges of Maryland. The Benedict Bridge (1950) is one of a few whose date lies outside the scope of the title. - ^ Chidester (2003), Reviews: Historic Bridges of Maryland, The Society for Industrial Archeology, <http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/sia/29.2/br_6.html>. Retrieved on 2 December 2007
This review comments that the book's scope is 1807-1947 (matching SHA's reference). - ^ Kathy Warren, Benedict: A Gem on the Patuxent, vol. 6, Southern Maryland This is Living — Southern Maryland Online, <http://somdthisisliving.somd.com/vol6num1/benedict.html>
This source states that the bridge was constructed in 1951.
