Milford Swing Bridge
NBI Information
Location
State: New Hampshire
County: Hillsborough County
Feature Carried: Pedestrian Path
Feature Crossed: Souhegan River
Latitude, Longitude: 42.8366, -71.6457
Structure Open, Posted, or Closed to Traffic: Open to Pedestrians
History
Year Built: 1889
Picture Date: June 27, 2021
Geometry
Lanes on Structure: 1
Lanes under Structure: 0
Number of Main Spans: 1
Main Structure Type: Suspension
Main Structure Material: Metal
Condition
Bridge is not on the National Bridge Inventory
Bridge Information
The Milford Swing Bridge was built in 1889 to help local mill workers get to their homes. The majority of the bridge is still original, although some of the rivets have been replaced with bolts. The bridge is very ornate, and is a great example of Victorian Era Detail. It was built out of a combination of a pony stiffening truss made from riveted iron work, and wire cable suspension, with a wood deck and roughly quarried local granite abutments.
This bridge is most likely called a swing bridge as shortening of the term “swinging bridge”. This is a term used to describe pedestrian suspension bridges that have minimal or no stiffening and thus tend to sway under load. However, this name can be unclear, as it is often confused with actual swing bridges, which are a type of moveable bridge. It is even more strange that this bridge is called swing bridge, because it has stiffening trusses, and therefore does not swing very much.
References
Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-swing-bridge-milford-new-hampshire
Only in Your State: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/experiences/new-hampshire/milford-swing-bridge-nh
Historic Bridges: https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=newhampshire/milford/
Milford History Online: https://milfordhistory.online/swing-bridge-milford-nh
