Community Rallies to Save America's Longest Wooden Bridge From Demolition
A petition advocating for the preservation of the Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury has garnered significant support, reaching over 4,000 signatures.
A Change.org petition advocating for the preservation of the Powder Point Bridge in Duxbury has garnered significant support, reaching over 4,000 signatures as of Thursday, October 16th. The petition, titled “Save the Powder Point Bridge,” addresses plans by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to replace what the petition describes as “the longest wooden bridge in America” with a $172 million concrete and metal highway bridge in July 2027.
The petition is sponsored by Save Our Bridge, Inc., a 501(c)(3) organization started by Duxbury residents, and asks the National Park Service to grant the bridge historic status. Organizers believe this would force MassDOT to consider repairing the current bridge instead of destroying it, potentially saving the state and federal government about $132 million that could be spent on roads and bridges elsewhere.
The petition describes the bridge’s cultural significance to the community, stating: “For more than a century, the rhythmic thump, thump, thump of our wheels hitting the wooden planks of the Powder Point Bridge has signaled our arrival in another world.” It paints a picture of the bridge experience, noting the views of neighbors fishing, the vistas of Duxbury Bay, and the marshes of the Back River.
According to the petition, the bridge’s structural issues stem from worms that have eaten part of the wooden pilings. The petition argues that instead of fixing those pilings, the state wants to knock down the whole structure and replace it with a concrete and metal highway bridge that the community neither wants nor asked for. The petition emphasizes the community’s long-term stewardship of the bridge, noting that while pilings and planks have been replaced over time, “it is still the same bridge, the one our great-grandparents built for us back in the 1890s.”
To learn more, visit the petition at https://www.change.org/p/save-the-powder-point-bridge-99b7075b-5d09-4dab-9c5b-76c710493132. To learn more about Save Our Bridge, Inc., visit https://saveourbridge.us/save-our-bridge.
MassDOT has scheduled a public meeting and listening session for Tuesday, October 21, 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Duxbury High School Cafeteria, 71 Alden Street in Duxbury. The meeting will allow the MassDOT project team to engage with the community and gather feedback on the bridge design through group discussions following a short presentation.
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