Industrial History: 1906 Aban/New Haven Crook Point Bridge over Seekonk River in Providence, RI

(Bridge Hunter, Historic Bridges, Satellite)

Matthew Ward Flickr via Historic Bridges, License: Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)

1 of several photos posted by Andrew Piechota
Crook Point Bridge and East Side Railroad Tunnel Providence, RI. Way too much standing water to get a look inside the tunnel. Definitely more imposing and creepy in person.
[The comments include several photos of the bridge and tunnel, including the interior of the tunnel.]

Kevin Bear posted

This is in Providence Rhode Island and has been stuck open since 1976. This crosses the Seekonk river

Crook Point Bridge used by New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad. I have a stickup bridge on my train table for this bridge.

Dan Dancause: Wikipedia is wrong, last train on the bridge was c. 1980 or 81, then it was abandoned.

David Smith: Raised section had a fire a while back. Tunnel entrance on the Providence side sealed up. Doubtful this bridge will ever see a train again.

Tim Shanahan shared

Henry Coleman commented on Kevin's post
This article was from March 22, 1980. Not sure how much longer the bridge was in service.

John Kaiser posted five photos that were shared by Tim Shanahan with the comment:

In Rhode Island. The Crook Point Bascule Bridge (opened in 1908 until 1976) is a steel railway drawbridge that once connected Providence’s Fox Point neighborhood to the City of East Providence across the Seekonk River. The bridge—which is also referred to as the Seekonk River Drawbridge or Crook Point Bridge—is currently unused and fixed in the upright position.
I remember as a young child (early 1980's) seeing this bridge down. Then they raised it permanently. There is currently a battle between both cities and a group of preservationists who are fighting not to demo the bridge. People want to keep it as a historical land mark.

Michael Levy posted
Crook Point Bridge, Providence, Rhode Island.

Will Morgan via Bridge Hunter via GoLocalProv,
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike (CC BY-SA)

Andrew Toppan commented on a post
Providence, RI

John Jauchler posted seven photos with the comment:

The Seekonk River Bridge in Providence, Rhode Island has been covered more than once on this group. However, not sure if anyone here has gotten their drone up to have a look. If so, here are even more shots!
This interesting bridge was built in 1908 as part of the New Haven's East Side Tunnel project, giving direct access to Providence's Union Station to trains serving Bristol and Fall River. Both the tunnel and bridge were abandoned in 1976. The bridge has an uncertain future; there are some efforts underway to save it, but the RI DOT has described it as an "attractive nuisance" and wants to tear it down by 2026. I can attest to the attractive nuisance part; during my visit a group of college-age people walked out onto the span with plans to jump into the water below. You can also see graffiti on the uppermost part of the raised span, which would be quite a dangerous climb to get up there.
The tunnel is a very short distance away, but the portals on both ends are sealed. I didn't think to get photos, so that'll have to wait 'til next time.

Brendan J Dock shared

John Roby posted two photos with the comment:

This railroad drawbridge in Providence, RI was abandoned in 1976 and left open to allow boats to navigate the river. Known by locals as the "stuck-up" bridge, it has become something of a symbol of the city's industrial heritage.
The Crook Point Bascule Bridge (or the Seekonk River Drawbridge) is a defunct Scherzer rolling lift railway bridge which spans the Seekonk River, connecting the city of Providence, to the city of East Providence.
Plans call for the bridge to be converted into a pedestrian bridge and a park to be built on land between the bridge and the East Side Railroad Tunnel.
The bridge, which was once slated for demolition, was recently named on the Providence Preservation Society's list of most endangered properties.

safe_image for Providence releases design proposals for 'stuck-up' bridge
[The above headline is not a hot link because this page shows the five design proposals.]

Joe Dockrill shared a post of four photos including a tree growing between the rails. The railroad was the New York, New Haven & Hartford.

11:10 YouTube video, it has been stuck up since 1976

UPDATE:

safe_image for RIDOT Plans to Turn Crook Point Bascule Bridge Over to Providence for $1
The span has been in the upright position since 1976.

A contest was held to determine what to do with it. The winning design was to replace the ties with lightbars and turn the span into a lightshow and the area into a riverside park. The bridge can't be used as a trail because that would require operating the movable span.