Talbot Avenue bridge

Last updated

Talbot Avenue Bridge, 2007 Talbot Avenue Bridge (1197016714).jpg
Talbot Avenue Bridge, 2007
A CSX freight train passes under Talbot Avenue Bridge, 2015 Talbot Avenue Bridge (20855505174).jpg
A CSX freight train passes under Talbot Avenue Bridge, 2015

The Talbot Avenue bridge in Montgomery County, Maryland, was a historic one-lane metal girder bridge that connected the neighborhood of Lyttonsville to downtown Silver Spring. Built in 1918 and dismantled in 2019, the bridge had historic value as a connection from an antebellum community founded by a free Black laborer to neighborhoods where for decades Black people were allowed to work, but not live. [1]

Contents

As of 2022, its main span is in storage with plans to display it along the Georgetown Branch Trail. [2]

History

The bridge replaced an earlier span across the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's double-track Metropolitan Branch line, which had opened in 1873. [3]

Its primary span used components of a dismantled railroad turntable. [2] The structure was 106 feet long and 14.5 feet wide, from timber curb to curb and an out-to-out width of 18 feet. The greater structure consisted of a through-plate girder in the center span, rolled girders in the end spans, timber floor beams, a wood plank deck and a timber railing. [3]

A new deck was added in 1986. [3] The bridge connected Hanover Street and Lanier Drive. [4]

A 1993 inspection report indicated the structure was in fair to poor condition with cracking, corrosion and section loss. The wood and steel on the bridge had been in disrepair, making it hard to keep intact. [5]

In 2016, preservationists protested plans to demolish the structure to make way for the planned light rail Purple Line. [6] [7]

In May 2017, the bridge was closed to vehicles after a safety inspection determined it to be unsafe. [8]

The bridge closed in June 2019, and was dismantled later that year. [9] Its main span was preserved and stored, with plans to place it on public display along the Georgetown Branch Trail. [2]

The bridge was replaced by a new two-lane bridge, which opened on May 24, 2024. [10] The new bridge carries the Georgetown Branch Trail extension of the Capital Crescent Trail to Silver Spring. [11]

In February 2019, the bridge was recorded as part of the Historic American Engineering Record. The project historian wrote, "The bridge also is significant for its social history and as a cultural landscape element. The tracks beneath the bridge formed a dividing line separating segregated suburban communities. African Americans living west of the bridge in Lyttonsville relied on the structure as a vital link to jobs, shopping, and recreational opportunities unavailable in their community. People east of the bridge lived in what was historically a sundown suburb: a place where African Americans could not buy or rent homes and where Jim Crow segregation was rigidly enforced." [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College Park, Maryland</span> City in Maryland, United States

College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, located approximately four miles (6.4 km) from the northeast border of Washington, D.C. Its population was 34,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the home of the University of Maryland, College Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgetown (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

Georgetown is a historic neighborhood and commercial district in Northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751 as part of the colonial-era Province of Maryland, Georgetown predated the establishment of Washington, D.C. by 40 years. Georgetown was an independent municipality until 1871 when the United States Congress created a new consolidated government for the entire District of Columbia. A separate act, passed in 1895, repealed Georgetown's remaining local ordinances and renamed Georgetown's streets to conform with those in Washington, D.C..

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bethesda station</span> Washington Metro station

Bethesda station is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Washington Metro system in Bethesda, Maryland. It is one of the busiest suburban Metro stations, serving on average 9,142 passengers each weekday in 2017. The Purple Line, a light rail system currently under construction, will terminate at Bethesda, providing rail service to other inner Maryland suburbs such as Silver Spring and College Park, each of which has additional north-south connections by Washington Metro, and New Carrollton, which has Amtrak and MARC connections to both Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K Street (Washington, D.C.)</span> Major thoroughfare in Washington, D.C.; a metonym for the U.S. lobbying industry

K Street is a major thoroughfare in the United States capital of Washington, D.C., known as a center for lobbying and the location of numerous advocacy groups, law firms, trade associations, and think tanks. In political discourse, "K Street" has become a metonym for lobbying in the United States, the same way Wall Street in New York City became a metonym for the financial markets of the United States, since many lobbying firms are or at least traditionally were located on the section in Northwest Washington which passes from Georgetown through a portion of Downtown Washington, D.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Palisades (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

The Palisades, or simply Palisades, is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., along the Potomac River, running roughly from the edge of the Georgetown University campus to the D.C.-Maryland boundary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maryland Route 200</span> Toll highway in Maryland, United States

Maryland Route 200, also known as the Intercounty Connector or ICC, is an 18.8-mile (30.3 km) controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Maryland. It connects Gaithersburg in Montgomery County and Laurel in Prince George's County, both of which are suburbs of Washington, D.C. The ICC was one of the most controversial Maryland road projects; opposition to the highway stalled the project for decades, and construction did not begin until 60 years after the highway's initial approval.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trestle bridge</span> Bridge of short spans supported by rigid frames

A trestle bridge is a bridge composed of a number of short spans supported by closely spaced frames. A trestle is a rigid frame used as a support, historically a tripod used to support a stool or a pair of isosceles triangles joined at their apices by a plank or beam such as the support structure for a trestle table. Each supporting frame is a bent. A trestle differs from a viaduct in that viaducts have towers that support much longer spans and typically have a higher elevation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purple Line (Maryland)</span> Under construction light rail line in Maryland

The Purple Line is a 16.2-mile (26.1 km) light rail line being built to link several Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.: Bethesda, Silver Spring, College Park, and New Carrollton. Currently slated to open in late 2027, the line will also enable riders to move between the Maryland branches of the Red, Green, and Orange lines of the Washington Metro without riding into central Washington, and between all three lines of the MARC commuter rail system. The project is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA), an agency of the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), and not the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), which operates Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital Crescent Trail</span> Rail trail in greater Washington, D.C.

The Capital Crescent Trail (CCT) is a 7.04-mile (11.33 km), shared-use rail trail that runs from Georgetown in Washington, D.C., to Bethesda, Maryland. An extension of the trail from Bethesda to Silver Spring along a route formerly known as the Georgetown Branch Trail is being built as part of the Purple Line light rail project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Subdivision</span> Railroad line in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, United States

The Metropolitan Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the District of Columbia and the U.S. state of Maryland. The 53-mile line runs from Washington, D.C., northwest to Weverton, Maryland, along the former Metropolitan Branch of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Streetcars in Washington, D.C., and Maryland</span>

Streetcars and interurbans operated in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., between 1890 and 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Railway and Electric Company</span>

The Washington Railway and Electric Company (WRECo) was the larger of the two major streetcar companies in Washington, D.C., and its Maryland suburbs in the early decades of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge</span> Bridge in Washington, D.C.

The Pennsylvania Avenue Bridge conveys Pennsylvania Avenue across Rock Creek and the adjoining Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway, between the neighborhoods of Georgetown and Foggy Bottom in Northwest Washington, D.C. Pennsylvania Avenue terminates at M Street immediately west of the bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metropolitan Branch Trail</span>

The Metropolitan Branch Trail is an American rail trail between the transit center in Silver Spring, Maryland, and Union Station in the District of Columbia. It runs for 8 miles (13 km): one in Maryland and seven within Washington, D.C. The trail parallels Metrorail and CSX tracks along a right-of-way opened in 1873 as the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O)'s Metropolitan Branch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herr's Island Railroad Bridge</span> Bridge in Pittsburgh, United States

The Herr's Island Railroad Bridge, also known as the West Penn Railroad Bridge, is a truss bridge across the Allegheny River in the United States between the Pittsburgh neighborhoods of Troy Hill and Herrs Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dickabram Bridge</span> Heritage listed road and rail bridge in Queensland, Australia

Dickabram Bridge is a heritage-listed road-and-rail bridge over the Mary River between Miva and Theebine, both in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. It was the major bridge on the Kingaroy railway line. It was designed by Henry Charles Stanley and built from 1885 to 1886 by Messrs Michael McDermott, Owens & Co. It is also known as Mary River Bridge (Miva). The bridge was registered on the former Register of the National Estate in 1988.

Lyttonsville is a mostly residential neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. Established in the 1850s, it is among the oldest neighborhoods in Montgomery County and is a notable example of a community created by free African Americans before the Civil War. Today, Lyttonsville is a 68-acre, predominantly residential neighborhood mostly composed of small single-family homes.

Lyttonsville is a light rail station that is currently under construction in the Lyttonsville neighborhood of Silver Spring, Maryland. It will be part of the Purple Line in Maryland. The station will be located at Lyttonsville Place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Street Railroad Trestle</span> Historic railroad bridge in downtown Austin, Texas

The Third Street Railroad Trestle is a historic wooden railroad trestle bridge crossing Shoal Creek in downtown Austin, Texas. Built around 1922 by the International–Great Northern Railroad, it replaced an earlier bridge in the same place. The bridge was used by the I–GN Railroad, the Missouri Pacific Railroad, and the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad until 1964, when commercial rail traffic stopped; after 1991 the bridge was abandoned. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

References

  1. ↑ Shaver, Katherine (September 24, 2016). "A Montgomery bridge that linked black and white neighborhoods during segregation soon will be lost to history". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Metropolitan Branch Bridge 9A (HAER MD-195)". Historic American Engineering Record. 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Inventory of Historic Bridges, Properties number M: 36-30" (PDF). Maryland Historic Trust. April 3, 2001. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ Jasinski, Agnes (May 28, 2008). "Talbot Avenue bridge closes today for repairs". The Gazette . Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 10, 2017.
  5. ↑ Robinson, Mark (April 7, 2016). "The strung out bridges of Montgomery County". Montgomery County Sentinel . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  6. ↑ Shaver, Katherine (February 8, 2017). "Montgomery County moves to preserve century-old bridge with ties to segregation". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Neighborhood profile: Lyttonsville". The Washington Post . Retrieved February 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ Shaver, Katherine (August 31, 2017). "Historic Maryland bridge is closed after failing inspection". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  9. ↑ Pollak, Suzanne (June 6, 2019). "Residents say goodbye to the historic Talbot Avenue Bridge". Montgomery County Sentinel . Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  10. ↑ Spencer, Darcy (May 25, 2024). "New bridge unites Silver Spring neighborhoods once divided into Black and white". WRC-TV . Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Talbot Avenue Bridge Design Meeting". April 16, 2019. Archived from the original on November 2, 2019. Retrieved October 8, 2020.

39°00′07″N77°02′41″W / 39.00195°N 77.04482°W / 39.00195; -77.04482

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.