Duvall Bridge (Laurel, Maryland)

Duvall Bridge
Coordinates 39°02′42″N 76°47′20″W / 39.045003°N 76.788812°W / 39.045003; -76.788812Coordinates: 39°02′42″N 76°47′20″W / 39.045003°N 76.788812°W / 39.045003; -76.788812[1]
Carries Lago road, (former) Telegraph Road
Crosses Patuxent River
Owner United States Department of the Interior
Heritage status Historic American Engineering Record,[1]
Maryland Historical Trust[2]
Characteristics
Design Pratt truss[1]
Material steel[1]
History
Constructed by unknown[1]
Construction end 1907
Closed 1977

Duvall Bridge is an historic single-lane bridge over the Patuxent River near Laurel, Maryland.

A bridge has been located on this site since the mid-18th century although the current bridge is estimated to have been constructed circa 1907.[2] The first bridge was constructed to serve the mill at the 450-acre plantation of Dr. Charles Duvall "Goodwood" renamed later to "Gladswood". The Duvall family had arrived in Anne Arundel County with arrival of Mareen Duvall in 1650. Mareen Duvall's Middle Plntation is downriver on the same path, now called Davidsonville Road. The Steel bridge was constructed in 1907. The bridge provided water crossing for the main Baltimore-Washington telegraph lines following "telegraph road". In 1936, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center was created on the land, and the bridge was transferred to the federal government in 1941. A plaque was installed in 1966 by the Duvall society. The bridge was condemned in 1977 after flooding.[2] The bridge is currently undergoing rehabilitation and is expected to open in December 2013.

Although a common bridge type, Duvall Bridge is one of only two surviving truss bridges in Prince George's County, along with Governor's Bridge. The Duvall bridge has a cross braced deck for wooden planking. The bridge has a plaque noting the Anne Arundel county commissioners of 1907.

[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lavoie, Catherine C. (1992). Historic American Engineering Record, Governor's Bridge, HAER NO. MD-85 (PDF). Washington, D.C.: National Park Service, Department of the Interior. pp. 1, 2.
  2. 1 2 3 Maryland Historical Trust Property Number PG-64-2 (PDF), Maryland Inventory of Historic Bridges, retrieved 5 January 2013
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