Photo credit:
Grace Davenport, 8/14/2024
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Wicomico River Bridge
Inventory No.:
WI-117
Other Name(s):
Salisbury Drawbridge; Bridge #2200900; Bridge #22009; MD 991 (Main Street) over Wicomico River Bridge; Main Street Bridge
Date Listed:
9/15/2025
Location:
W. Main Street (MD 991) over Wicomico River and 400 W. Main Street, Salisbury, Wicomico County
Category:
Structure
Period/Date of Construction:
1927-1928
Architect/Builder:
Mt. Vernon Bridge Company of Ohio (superstructure)
Regan Construction Company (substructure)
Boundary Description:
including the parcel of land associated with the operator’s house. The boundary around the bridge extends roughly 100 feet from east to west and 45 feet between the north and south sides, while the area around the operator’s house, currently addressed at 400 W. Main Street, includes the 148-square-foot parcel owned by MDOT SHA (Tax Map 106, Parcel 1098, Account ID# 09-060723) and a small portion of the neighboring parcel that is now maintained as a city park.
The UTM of the northeast corner is Zone 18 S, 447229.00 m E, 4246528.00 m N; for the southeast corner its Zone 18 S, 447227.00 m E, 4246515.00 m N; the northwest corner is around Zone 18 S, 447202.00 m E, 4246533.00 m N; and the southwest corner is located roughly at Zone 18 S, 447200.00 m E, 4246521.00 m N. The boundary then extends west to the northwest corner of the operator’s house at Zone 18 S, 447192.00 m E, 4246522.00 m N; the southwest corner at Zone 18 S, 447191.00 m E, 4246515.00 m N; the southeast corner extends to the bulkhead at Zone 18 S, 447199.00 m E, 4246514.00 m N; and Zone 18 S, 447201.00 m E, 4246516.00 m N, and then to the northeast corner of the operator house property at Zone 18 S, 447202.00 m E, 4246520.00 m N.
The NRHP boundaries for the Wicomico River Bridge include the character-defining features of this resource, including the bascule piers and the road surface above them, the bascule spans, the operator’s house, and small space between the house, the Wicomico River,and the bridge piers. The fender system, dolphins, and much of the bulkhead along either side of the river and bridge are excluded from the NRHP boundaries as these features must regularly change in size, materials, and design to ensure continued safety and durability of the resource. Furthermore, these elements are tertiary character-defining features and of the lowest value to the historic integrity of the bridge, many of which have been replaced multiple times in their current location or near vicinity.
Related Multiple Property Record:
Historic Highway Bridges of Maryland, 1694-1965
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Description:
The Wicomico River Bridge carries the two-lane MD 991 roadway, also known as W. Main Street, across the Wicomico River in downtown Salisbury, Maryland. Constructed in the winter of 1927–1928 for the Maryland State Roads Commission (SRC), this double-leaf, simple-trunnion, bascule bridge is flanked by concrete pier abutments, spanning a total of 83 feet. Each bascule leaf is composed of two, 20-foot-long, steel, deck-plate girders that rotate on a pivot (or trunnion) located below the roadway in a concrete pit, assisted by an electronic motor and integral poured-concrete counterweight. A two-story, one-bay, frame, Neo-Classical-styled operator’s house is situated at the southwest corner of the bridge.
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Significance:
The Wicomico River Bridge in Salisbury, Maryland, was built in 1927–1928 to facilitate greater movement of vehicular and maritime traffic through downtown Salisbury. It replaced an earlier pivot bridge that had been severely damaged after the Isabella Street dam collapsed in August 1926 and introduced a wider, more efficient method of traversing both W. Main Street and the Wicomico River. This double-leaf bascule bridge was constructed by the State Roads Commission (SRC) during the Good Roads Movement at a time when moveable bridges were increasingly popular on the Eastern Shore. Following J.E. Greiner’s “General Specifications for Highway Bridges, Part 2 – 1916, Revised Edition,” the design of this bascule bridge emanated from the SRC in the late 1920s when bridge plans and components were increasingly standardized, though it appears to be a one-of-a-kind structure in the state today. The Wicomico River Bridge is a well-preserved and rare example of a Milwaukee-type, simple-trunnion bascule, and it is the only bridge in Maryland known to have been constructed by the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company. Both J. E. Greiner and the Mt. Vernon Bridge Company are nationally recognized as significant leaders in early-twentieth-century bridge design and construction, reflecting the importance of this resource as a unique and innovative example of a movable bridge in Maryland from the time period.
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