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Bay State's Last Wooden Drawbridge Safe From Wreckers

CHATHAM (AP) - Massachusetts' last wooden drawbridge has been declared eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that at least delays plans by the state to replace it.
 
Plans to replace the Mitchell River Bridge in Chatham with a concrete-and-steel structure prompted preservationists to seek the historic designation.
 
The Massachusetts Historical Commission as well as transportation agencies decided the 150-year-old bridge didn't qualify for historic designation because of extensive reconstruction in 1980.
 
The Cape Cod Times reported the bridge's role in transporation history and its rare design led to the National Register's finding earlier this month.
 
State highway administrator Luisa Paiewonsky tells The Boston Globe the state will work with local officials on a new plan for the bridge.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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