History
The bridge was constructed from 1966 to 1969 at a cost of U.S.$54,742,000 by the Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade & Douglas company, also famous for engineering the modern New York City Subway and the Cape Cod Canal.
The bridge was renamed for U.S. Senator Claiborne Pell in 1992, but it is still commonly referred to as the Newport Bridge by residents and historians. The bridge is featured on the Rhode Island state quarter.
The first time that runners were allowed over the bridge was when a group of 300 runners ran over in the early 1980s in a half-marathon for Save The Bay. In the fall of 2011, the inaugural Citizens Bank Newport Pell Bridge Run was held which marked the first time in recent history that runners were allowed to cross the bridge (which was closed to traffic).
Bicycles are not permitted on this bridge, but Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus #64 has bike racks for weekday and Saturday travel.
Read more about this topic: Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge
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