Bulkeley Bridge

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Bulkeley Bridge
Bulkeley Bridge
Official name Morgan G. Bulkeley Bridge
Carries Motor vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles
Crosses Connecticut River
Locale Hartford, Connecticut
Maintained by Connecticut Department of Transportation[1]
Design stone arch bridge
Longest span 119 feet (36.3 m)
Total length 1075 ft (327.7 m)
Width 110 ft (33.5 m)
Clearance below 39 ft (11.9 m)
Beginning date of construction 1903
Completion date 1908[2]
Opening date 1908
Coordinates 41°46′10″N 72°39′55″W / 41.76944, -72.66528
Morgan G. Bulkeley Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Bulkeley Bridge (Connecticut)
Bulkeley Bridge
Nearest city: Hartford, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°46′10″N 72°39′55″W / 41.76944, -72.66528Coordinates: 41°46′10″N 72°39′55″W / 41.76944, -72.66528
Built/Founded: 1908
Architect: Graves, Edwin D., Whellwright, Edmund M.
Architectural style(s): CLASSICAL REVIVAL
Added to NRHP: 1993-12-10
NRHP Reference#: 93001347

The Bulkeley Bridge (also known as Hartford Bridge, Bridge No. 980A) is a stone arch bridge composed of nine spans located in Hartford, Connecticut. The bridge carries Interstate 84, U.S. Route 6 and U.S. Route 44, connecting Hartford to East Hartford. As of 2005 the bridge carried an average daily traffic of 142,500 cars.[3]

The Bulkeley Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in use in the Interstate Highway System [4]. It is also the longest stone arch bridge in the world.[5] The Bulkeley Bridge is named for Connecticut governor and United States Senator, Morgan Bulkeley.

Contents

[edit] History

The current bridge is the third at that location.

Second bridge on this site
Second bridge on this site

The first bridge was built in 1810. Washed away in 1818, it was succeeded by a covered bridge, which burned in 1895. The current bridge opened in 1908.[6]

Middle arch of the bridge, showing architectural details
Middle arch of the bridge, showing architectural details

Postcard image

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ CT DOT
  2. ^ Connecticut's historic highway bridges
  3. ^ 2005 Traffic Volumes State Maintained Highway Network (Traffic Log); State of Connecticut Department of Transportation p89.
  4. ^ Oldest bridges currently used in interstate system; gatago.com
  5. ^ Secord,Greg; Hartford 'Firsts' and Other Interesting Facts; hartfordhistory.net
  6. ^ Delany, Edmund Thomas (1983). The Connecticut River: New England's Historic Waterway. The Globe Pequot Press, p.91. ISBN 978-0871069801.