Blackstone Viaduct
The viaduct was built as part of a project by the Boston, Hartford and Erie (BH&E) to build a complete run between New York City and Boston. The first leg of this route, between Blackstone and Boston, was opened in 1849, and was purchased by the BH&E in 1867. That company completed the connection between Blackstone and New Haven, Connecticut in 1873, part of which included construction of this viaduct, replacing an older wooden trestle. By the early 20th century, some of the viaduct's arches were in deteriorating condition, and were reinforced with concrete in 1918. The bridge over Canal Street was replaced in 1917. The viaduct is one of the largest of the state's 19th-century masonry bridge structures, second in size only to the Canton Viaduct.
In the late 1960s, floodwaters washed away an abutment of the adjoining trestle to the east, ending service over the viaduct.
The first phase of a restoration project intended to convert the viaduct into a recreational facility including a bike path began in 2019. The bike path will travel over the viaduct and connect two disjointed sections of the Blackstone River Greenway, one 3.7-mile segment in Massachusetts terminating in the town of Blackstone, and a 0.6-mile stretch in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. As of 2021, the Greenway comprised a total of 17 miles of off-road bike path, along a planned 48-mile route between Providence and Worcester.
See also
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ Kierstead, Matthew; Mekinda, Jonathan; Friedberg, Betsy (November 2001). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form". National Park Service.
- ^ Clem, Lauren (10 April 2019). "Restoring a giant". The Valley Breeze. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ "The Blackstone River Bikeway Come and Ride". Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor. Archived from the original on 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.