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Torry Island Swing Bridge
Coordinates	26°42′20″N 80°42′47″W / 26.70549705°N 80.7129884°W / 26.70549705; -80.7129884
Crosses	Lake Okeechobee Rim Canal
Locale	Belle Glade, Florida
Owner	Palm Beach County
Maintained by	Palm Beach County
Characteristics
Design	Swing bridge
Material	Steel
Trough construction	Steel
Pier construction	Concrete
No. of lanes	1
History
Opened	1935
Statistics
Toll	None
Location

The Torry Island Swing Bridge (also known as the Point Chosen Swing Bridge) is a historic swing bridge located just west of Belle Glade, Florida. The bridge was built in 1935, making it the oldest swing drawbridge in Florida and the only one in the state that is still operated manually via a crank. The bridge connects County Road 717 (West Canal Street) on the east side of Lake Okeechobee to Torry Island, a historic site and the lake's only inhabited island.

The Torry Island Swing Bridge crosses Lake Okeechobee's rim canal and is only one lane wide with traffic lights on both sides of the bridge controlling the direction of travel on the single lane (as well as stopping traffic when the swing span is open). The Torry Island Swing Bridge notably provides access to the Torry Island Campground and is opened for vessel traffic on demand by operations at Slims Fish Camp.

History

Built in 1935, the bridge was needed after the construction of the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee. The dike's construction led to the creation of the rim canal, which needed to be bridged to access what is now Torry Island. The bridge's steel swing span was a recycled span that had been used previously on the original Roosevelt Bridge in Stuart from 1916 to 1934.

The bridge's first tender was Slim Corbin. Corbin was a worker on the Hervert Hoover Dike after moving to the area from Alabama looking for work during the Great Depression. Corbin created Slim's Fish Camp on Torry Island, which is still operated today by the Corbin family and still houses the swing bridge's operation.

References

1. ^ Streeter, Angel (23 September 2009). "Florida's oldest swing drawbridge spans history". St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
2. "Slims Fish Camp on Torry Island". Slim's Fish Camp. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
3. "Torry Island Swing Bridge". Palm Beach County Film and Television Commission. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
4. Luckhardt, Greg E.; Luckhardt, Alice L. (14 October 2013). "Historical Vignettes: Martin County bridges and bridge tenders". TCPalm. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
5. "About US – Slims Lake Okeechobee Marina". Slim's Fish Camp. Retrieved 7 May 2024.

• Landmarks in Florida
• Road bridges in Florida
• Bridges completed in 1935
• Swing bridges in the United States