The Veterans Memorial Bridge is located at the site of the historic Essex Bridge. Originally, a ferry crossed the Danvers River at the location from 1636 until 1788 when the first bridge was built. This bridge was rebuilt several times until 1896 when a steel
pony truss swing bridge with trestle approaches was constructed by the county. It was constructed by the
King Bridge Company of
Cleveland,
Ohio. Part of the cost of the 1896 bridge was covered by the
Bay State Street Railway, which operated on a track over the bridge until 1934. The trolley tracks were later removed. By the early 1990s the steel bridge had deteriorated to a point where it had to be demolished. It was replaced by the current span in 1996, and "dedicated on August 2nd, 1996 in honor Salem veterans who served the United States in its time of need". The Veterans Memorial Bridge contains seven main spans with the longest measuring 220 feet. It also contains four approach spans ranging between 60 and 160 feet in length. The current bridge is typical of
MassDOT's preference for use of
weathering steel for steel bridges. ==References==