The Glendale Middle Road Bridge in Stockbridge has experienced a bit of bad luck over the past 50 years. But first, let’s go back to an earlier time. The bridge illustration shown above was published in 1890. Color arrows have been added as reference points. The red arrow points to a slightly distorted view of the parabolic truss or “pumpkin-seed-style” structure built by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company. A blue arrow points to the Glendale Woolen Mill on the left, which was torn down several years after this illustration was first printed. A green arrow points to a modest train depot that once stood just to the right of the bridge.
Shown immediately below this text are two early 1900s images of the old bridge. It survived until 1974 when a speeding auto crashed into it. The collapsed bridge is shown in two additional photos below. It took four years to rebuild the span with a new concrete bridge. Locals complained about the lengthy repair time, but it seems that four to five years for bridge replacement is now commonplace in Massachusetts. Now, a mere 46 years later, the “new” bridge has two supporting beams in poor condition and has been reduced to one lane as shown in the bottom photograph.
