Canton Viaduct
Canton Viaduct
Canton Viaduct with Revere Copper Mill in the
background - video.
Official name
Canton Viaduct
Original name:
• The Stone Bridge
Nicknames:
• The Great Wall of
Canton
• Canton’s Great Wall
Carries
Presently services:
• Amtrak Northeast
Corridor (passenger)
• MBTA (commuter)
• Conrail (freight)
Crosses
• Canton River
• Neponset Street
• Neponset Valley
Locale
Canton, Massachusetts
Maintained by
Amtrak
Designer
• William Gibbs McNeill
• George Washington
Whistler
Design
Considered a "Multiple
Arch" bridge but it is more
accurately described as a
Double Blind Arcade
Viaduct.
Material
Granite from local quarries
Number of
spans
50 total:
• 40 at 22’ long (deck
spans on each side)
• 2 at 26’ long (deck span
above granite roadway
arch on each side)
• 1 at 24’ long (semi-
circular granite roadway
arch)
• 1 at 20’ long (segmental
concrete roadway arch
added in 1953)
• 6 at 6’ long (semi-
circular river arches)
Piers in water
7
Longest span
26’ long (granite roadway
arch)
Total length
615’ long on a 1 degree
curve
Width
Varies:
• 26’-28’ wide at
foundation
• 24’ wide at the base
(above foundation)
• 22’ wide under deck,
narrower than the base
due to the 1":48" battre
(sloped surface)
• 30’ wide at top, wider
due to the cantilevered,
precast, prestressed
concrete deck
Height
Varies due to valley
contour, built with a
stepped foundation]:
• 4’ high above ground
level at southern end
• 60’ high above river
level
• 70’ maximum height
(from foundation to
capstones)
Load limit
Unknown:
• Originally built to carry
8-ton steam locomotives
up to 20 MPH
• Currently carries
Amtrak’s 100-ton Acela
Express up to 125 MPH
after 1993 renovations
when it was re-decked
and electrified.[1]
Clearance below Varies:
• 22’ high at the granite
roadway arch
• 18’ high at the concrete
roadway arch
• 6’ high at the (6) river
arches
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Canton Viaduct
1
AADT
• See 2004 Railroad
statistics
• Motor vehicles passing
through = ?
• Watercraft passing
through = 0; watercraft
are not allowed o