Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge
movable railroad bridge in Massachusetts
The Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge (also known as the Buzzards Bay Railroad Bridge) is a vertical lift bridge in Bourne, Massachusetts near Buzzards Bay that carries railroad traffic across the Cape Cod Canal, connecting Cape Cod with the mainland.
Design and construction
The bridge was constructed beginning in 1933 by the Public Works Administration from a design by firms Parsons, Klapp, Brinckerhoff, and Douglas as well as Mead and White (both of New York), for the United States Army Corps of Engineers, which operates both the bridge and the canal.
The bridge has a 544-foot (166 m) main span, with a 135-foot (41 m) clearance when raised, uses 1,100-short-ton (1,000 t) counterweights on each end, and opened on December 29, 1935. The bridge replaced a bascule bridge that had been built in 1910.
At the time of its completion, it was the longest vertical lift span in the world. It is now the second longest lift bridge in the United States, the longest being the Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge between New Jersey and Staten Island, New York.
Maintenance and use
The bridge is owned, operated and maintained by the US Army Corps of Engineers. In 2002, the bridge underwent a major rehabilitation, including replacement of cables, machinery, and electrical systems, at a cost of $30 million and was reopened in 2003.
The rail line on either side of the bridge is owned by Massachusetts Department of Transportation, and is used year-round by the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad for their refuse trains and other freight operations. The bridge is also used by seasonal tourist trains operated by the Cape Cod Central Railroad, as well as the MBTA's seasonal CapeFLYER service, which runs between Boston and Hyannis.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge” as movable railroad bridge in Massachusetts. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as movable railroad bridge in Massachusetts. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3467570. Authority coordinates are 41.742, -70.614. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1933, 1935, 1910 and 2002.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge primary sources, Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge archive and Cape research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.