It is a "Scherzer Rolling Lift Bascule"-type bascule bridge. It has a steel superstructure and block stone piers. The moveable span is a Warren through truss span.[3]
History
The original bridge in the 1860s
The current bridge is the fourth railroad span in the same location, originally known as Naugatuck Junction. The original bridge was the first railroad bridge over the Housatonic river, built by the New York and New Haven Railroad, and was a single-track wooden covered Howe truss, 1,293 feet (394 m) in length and a draw of 134 feet (41 m), built in 1848. It was the longest covered bridge ever built in the state of Connecticut. The second bridge was a double-track cast iron Whipple truss, 1,091 feet (333 m) in length and a draw of 206 feet (63 m), built in 1872 by the Keystone Bridge Company for the New York and New Haven Railroad. The third bridge was a double-track wrought iron Pratt truss, 1,091 feet (333 m) in length and a draw of 206 feet (63 m), built in 1884 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. The current bridge, a four-track steel with Warren through truss spans, Scherzer Bascule bridge, 1,072 feet (327 m) in length and a draw of 110 feet (34 m), was completed in 1906 by the American Bridge Company for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Its completion finished the quadruple-tracking of the New Haven mainline from Woodlawn Junction to New Haven.[4]
Repairs were planned for six months starting April 25, 2015.[5]
Amtrak was awarded up to $246 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds in November 2023 for design of a replacement for the span. Amtrak will contribute an additional $16 million, while the state of Connecticut will provide $45 million. Up to an additional $119 million was awarded for interim repairs to the bridge.[6][7]
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