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The 65-foot-long central span of Dover Bridge, which carries MD 331, swings open for the pleasure boats and barges that chug along the Choptank River out to the Chesapeake Bay. Between 1904 and 1939 the Maryland State Roads Commission (the precursor of the MD State Highway Administration) built at least seventeen swing spans over navigable waters, including this one, constructed in 1932. Swing spans were preferred by many engineers because they were simple, reliable, and economical. Built by J.E. Greiner Company, this three-span steel Warren truss is one of only four historic swing spans left in the state. The tenderís house of most movable bridges is located on the bridge itself, but here the engineers sited it on the riverbank.
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