Most of the roads in Fairlington haven’t changed much since Fairlington was built. But the bridges have. One bridge was built over Shirley Highway, now better known as I-395, in 1967. At around the same time, another bridge in Fairlington was taken down. This bridge connected S. Abingdon St. and 28th St. S., going over S. Buchanan St. in what is sometimes called the “Grand Canyon” area of North Fairlington.
The bridge was known as the “Broken Bridge” as it was in subpar condition for most of its short lifespan. According to residents who lived there at the time, the bridge was made mostly or entirely of wood, which accounted for a lot of splinters among the kids who played on the bridge. And kids did play on the bridge. They would drop snowballs from the bridge to the cars below and a daredevil might walk on the bridge’s railings. Mostly, they climbed on the rafters underneath the bridge, sometimes falling from the rafters as well.
According to resident recollections, the bridge was closed to vehicle traffic in the late 1950’s or early 1960’s. This may have been due to structural concerns. One resident believed it was rotting. But closing it to vehicle traffic hardly made it a safer place for Fairlington’s many children, who apparently couldn’t resist the temptation to play on it. Ultimately it was taken down around 1965. Ever since then, S. Abingdon St. and 28th St. S. have terminated in dead ends, resulting in longer drives for residents and longer walks to Abingdon for students.
We only have one photo of the bridge, apparently an aerial photo from the 1940’s, courtesy of Arlington Public Library. If anyone has any additional photos of the bridge or of other Fairlington history, we would welcome them at [email protected].
