At 101, the Hanover Street Bridge is showing its age
Photos and text by Karl Merton Ferron
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- The Francis Scott Key Bridge span appears to be a part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge as a truck heads toward the city in the morning. Known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, it links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Phragmites sway in the breeze at West Covington Park in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- A car strikes a pothole which reveals shredded asphalt and concrete to show rusting rebar in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Traffic runs beneath lane control boxes on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Arches support the bridge deck in a view looking west in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Looking toward the City Garage and I-95, graffiti adds color beneath the bridge deck in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Crumbling concrete exposes rusted rebar and a hole to the bridge deck above in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Arches beneath the deck are illuminated in afternoon sun looking north in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Marine navigation lights hang from the drawbridge above the Middle Branch Patapsco River, in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- A welder starts his torch behind a protective shield to repair steel grates on the double leaf drawbridge, with more damage evident around previous repairs in foreground, on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- A welder starts his torch behind a protective shield to repair steel grates on the double leaf drawbridge, with more damage evident around previous repairs in foreground, on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge stretches across the Middle Branch Patapsco River, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Rowers practice below the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- A gate stands erect on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Traffic moves past eroding concrete and rebar on the pedestrian walkway on Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- A car strikes a pothole which reveals shredded asphalt and concrete to show rusting rebar in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Looking down to the girders below, steel grates on the double leaf show wear from traffic. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- The drawbridge watchtower rises beneath lane signals in front of the city skyscrapers in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- The Francis Scott Key Bridge (background span) barely rises in the background as a van traverses the double span, crossing the Middle Branch Patapsco River at sunrise. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay.(Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- A plaque of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- The city center looms above, while first responders watch oncoming traffic (left) as a driver is tended to, while a Baltimore Police officer documents an afternoon crash in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Driiftwood, caught by fishing line, rests atop rocks next to the abutment in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Marine navigation lights hang from the drawbridge above the Middle Branch Patapsco River, in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- The afternoon sun catches the abutment of the northern portion in a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
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- Pigeons rest on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, known by many as the Hanover Street Bridge, which links Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun)
Sunrise casts a warm hue on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge (better known as the Hanover Street Bridge), which sleeplessly links downtown Baltimore and Port Covington with Cherry Hill, Brooklyn, and Curtis Bay. The Strobel Steel Construction Company of Chicago constructed the double leaf Rall type bascule in 1916, replacing a dilapidated long bridge, built in 1856 by Richard Cromwell. Very few Rall type spans remain in operation, and a full century of daily use has taken its toll on the 2,290-foot-long drawbridge. Heavy trucks now rumble over filled-in potholes that resemble scabs on an injured leg. The tractor trailers and dump trucks share five lanes with a steady stream of vehicular traffic, exposing rebar and shredding steel grates on the double-leaf span. While the city under then-mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake approved a $1 million, four-year contract with a consultant, it is not known what will become of the south Baltimore icon.
Daily life on the bridge has its share of beautiful moments, mixed with dangerous experiences. Local police and fire/rescue responded one afternoon to a motor vehicle crash when one vehicle hit the rear end of another, while city repair crews responded the following morning, welding steel in a hopscotched patchwork of keeping the spans safe for vehicles to travel across. Standing atop the drawbridge can feel like riding a small boat being tossed about in waves, as trucks and buses rumble across, shaking the leaf spans about. Until the city finds a viable path to repair or replace the aging bridge, work crews will regularly return, applying small repairs on the 101-year-old bridge, like physicians applying bandages on traumatic wounds.
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joe
Dec 05, 2017 @ 16:05:47
this has been crumbling for my entire life. its needed complete redecking for Longer than that. but its been Baltimore’s policy to patch and bandaid rather than actual repair for most of the last half century.