Remember the tolls? Mount Hope Bridge has a storied past

Often overshadowed by the more well-known Newport and Jamestown bridges, the Mount Hope Bridge, located to the northeast of Newport, connects Portsmouth and Bristol. It also serves as a backdrop to Rogers Williams University, which sits on the edge of Bristol.

Morgan DiMaio, who graduated from RWU in 2021 with a BA in psychology and criminal justice and in 2023 with a MA in forensic mental health counseling, said living by the water and the Mount Hope Bridge gave her “memories for a lifetime.”

“Homework by the sailing center, walks down by the bridge, and kayaking in the bay with the bridge in the background are a few of the multitude of experiences that shaped my time there,” DiMaio said. “Living by the Mount Hope Bridge was a unique college experience that I am lucky to say I was a part of!”

The Mount Hope Bridge was built well before the Jamestown and Newport bridges, opening to travelers in October of 1929 at the beginning of the Great Depression. Even before the stock market crash caused the bridge to declare bankruptcy in 1931, the bridge had some struggles getting established. It took seven years for construction on the bridge to begin. The bridge finally began to come to life in 1927 thanks to advocacy by William Henry Vanderbilt III, the former governor of Rhode Island and great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt, who owned the Breakers and founded Vanderbilt University (where I attend college!). In June of 1929, part of the bridge had to be reconstructed before it opened due to significant issues within its structure.

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The bridge was purchased by the state in 1954 and it cost 60 cents to cross the bridge one way and $1 for a roundtrip journey; the toll was later reduced to 30 cents each way. Since 1998, it has been free to cross the bridge.

Have you ever biked or walked across the Mount Hope Bridge? This practice was outlawed just over a month ago, much to the confusion of bikers and pedestrians. The Rhode Island Bridge and Turnpike Authority claimed that biking and walking across the bridge had only been allowed for special occasions, despite other state departments having classified the bridge as a bicycle route.

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This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: What's Great Off 138: Mount Hope Bridge connects Portsmouth, Bristol