The French King Bridge (FKB) was opened to traffic on September 10, 1932. It was named the "Most Beautiful Steel Bridge" of 1932 by the American Institute of Steel Construction. The bridge was rebuilt in 1992, and refurbished in 2008–2010.[3][4]
Suicides
In 2009, police said that between 26 and 31 people were known to have jumped off the bridge since its construction in 1932, with only 2 survivors.[5]
In 2023 nine-foot steel barrier was erected on both side of the bridge by MassDOT. The barriers have all but stopped the need for emergency responders to be called to the bridge for rescue of people in crisis, or recovery of people who have jumped.[6][7]
Name
The name comes from a nearby geographic feature named French King Rock, visible in the middle of the river.[8]
Image gallery
A view north from the top of the bridge during summer (August 2007)
A view from the bridge to Connecticut River at Autumn
A view of the road surface and guard rails
The southwest lamp post
The honorary plaque on the North West side of the bridge
^Massachusetts Highway Department. "French King Bridge". Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation. Archived from the original on 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2009-09-02. It is of engineering interest as an unusual development of the uncommon three-span, "cantilever arch" bridge type, in that definite reactions were jacked into its steel work at the conclusion of construction, resulting in a bridge which is structurally continuous across four supports.
