Royal Park Bridge

The Royal Park Bridge is a bascule bridge across the Intracoastal Waterway, linking Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, Florida. It gained widespread attention in February of 2022 when a woman fell to her death as its movable spans rose.

Royal Park Bridge in 2014 with its spans raised

Earlier structures

The original Royal Park Bridge was constructed as a wooden structure in 1911. The toll was 25 cents per vehicle and 5 cents per pedestrian.[1]

The original bridge was replaced in 1959.[2]

Current structure

The current Royal Park Bridge is a bascule bridge. It opened in 2005.[2]

Death of Carol Wright

On February 6, 2022, Carol Esterling Wright was killed while crossing the bridge with her bike when its spans suddenly started rising.[3] The bridge tender on duty, Artissua Paulk, was fired, arrested, and subsequently charged with manslaughter by culpable negligence.[4][5]

References
  1. Kleinberg, Eliot (February 7, 2001). "Cap Dimick, Palm Beach's first mayor, a pioneer but no captain". The Palm Beach Post. p. 14R. Retrieved April 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Key Historical Dates & Events". Town of Palm Beach. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  3. Cohen, Lenny (2022-02-14). "'Her 79-year-old arms and hands gave way;' lawyer for drawbridge victim's family speaks". WPEC. Retrieved 2022-03-30.
  4. "Contact 5: Bridge tender says she checked span before woman fell to her death". WPTV. 2022-03-17. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  5. "'I killed a lady on the bridge': Florida drawbridge tender arrested after 79-year-old woman falls to her death". FOX 13 News. 2022-03-18. Retrieved 2022-03-23.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.