Its service life came to an end after it was badly damaged by fire in 1996, cutting off access to Pleasure Beach.

Pleasure Beach Bridge is a riveted Warren through-truss,[1]: 20–21  consisting of longitudinal members joined only by angled cross-members, forming alternately inverted equilateral triangle-shaped spaces along the length.

[1]: 20–21  The swing span was constructed in 1927, but in the Great Depression the Beach Ferry Company transferred control of the bridge to the city of Bridgeport.

[3] In 1994, the need to replace the bridge resulted in a state and federal promise of $20 million, but this was rejected by the Connecticut Department of Transportation in 1995.

[4] The bridge caught fire on June 16, 1996, when a cigarette butt or match ignited the wooden structure.

[8] In 2005, the bridge was slated to have $13.5 million bond grant by the State of Connecticut that was termed "legislative pork".