Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge
File:Amtrak bridge at Old Saybrook - open.jpg
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Carries Railroad
Crosses Connecticut River
Locale Old Saybrook, Connecticut to Old Lyme, Connecticut
Owner Amtrak
Characteristics
Design Truss bridge with a bascule span
Material Steel
Total length 1,659.6 feet (505.8 m)[1]
Longest span 161 feet (49 m)[1]
Number of spans 9 fixed + 1 bascule[1]
Clearance below 19 ft (5.8 m) [2]
History
Designer Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co., Chicago[1]
Construction end 1907
Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge is located in Connecticut
Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge
Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge
Location in Connecticut

The Amtrak Old Saybrook – Old Lyme Bridge is the last crossing of the Connecticut River before it reaches Long Island Sound. It is a Truss bridge with a bascule span, allowing boat traffic to go through. Its tracks are owned by Amtrak and used by trains on their Northeast Corridor and Shore Line East high-speed rail lines. It can be seen from the Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge (Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1), as well as from various points on Route 154.

Construction and operational history

Also known as Connecticut River Railroad Bridge and as Connecticut River Bridge, it was built in 1907 by the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Company of Chicago, for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It is similar in design to the Housatonic River Railroad Bridge further south, though shorter in overall length. It also lacks the latter bridge's parallel sets of spans, although the abutments and piers were designed to carry such extra spans (for four total tracks) which were never installed at this location.

The bridge underwent a structural rehabilitation in 1976, and had mechanical and electrical rehabilitation in 1981 and 1997. In 2000 the bridge experienced a major electrical failure which rendered the drawspan stuck in the open position (blocking railroad traffic).[1] The bridge became stuck in the closed position twice in 2001.[3]

Historic status designation

The bridge was determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, but it was not finally listed due to owner objection, with decision noted in National Register reference number #87002125.[4]

It is one of eight moveable bridges on the Amtrak route through Connecticut surveyed in one multiple property study in 1986.[5] The eight bridges from west to east are: Mianus River Railroad Bridge at Cos Cob, built in 1904; Norwalk River Railroad Bridge at Norwalk, 1896; Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge at Westport, 1905; Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge at Bridgeport, 1902; Housatonic River Railroad Bridge, at Devon, 1905; this Connecticut River Railroad Bridge, Old Saybrook-Old Lyme, 1907; Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme-Waterford, 1907; and Thames River Bridge (Amtrak), Groton, built in 1919.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Paul X. O'Neill, Jr., Alex Ostrovsky (2002). "Failure and Quick Recovery of Movable Bridge on the Acela Line." Technical paper presented at 9th Biennial Movable Bridge Symposium, Daytona Beach, FL, sponsored by Heavy Movable Structures, Inc.
  2. ↑ [1] Chapter 8, p.300
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form.

External links

Media related to Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. at Wikimedia Commons

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Amtrak_Old_Saybrook_–_Old_Lyme_Bridge&oldid=2116497"