Rapallo Viaduct
| Rapallo Viaduct | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| National Register of Historic Places | |||
 Filled former railway bridge Rapallo Viaduct (2016) |
|||
|
|||
| location | East Hampton , Middlesex County , Connecticut | ||
| Coordinates | 41 ° 34 ′ 19 ″ N , 72 ° 28 ′ 19 ″ W | ||
| Built | 1873 | ||
| architect | Edward W. Serrell , Phoenix Iron Works | ||
| NRHP number | 86002728 | ||
| The NRHP added | August 21, 1986 | ||
The Rapallo Viaduct is an infilled former railroad bridge in East Hampton in the US state of Connecticut over the Flat Brook . The Air Line Trail runs on the viaduct today . It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1986 .
The viaduct was built as part of the New Haven, Middletown and Willimantic Railroad line from New Haven to Willimantic . The railway line was relatively straight and was part of the connection between Boston and New York . The direct route also required that the route had to cross several deep gorges. These include the Flat Brook Gorge , southeast of East Hampton. The viaduct was named after Charles A. Rapallo , one of the directors of the railway company. When Edward W. Serrell , the railway company's chief engineer at the time, designed the construction of the tall iron bridge, the use of wrought iron was still a new technology. Despite Serrell's experience and high reputation as a bridge builder, he was not able to work out exactly what shape the bridge members should have, and the execution was outsourced to the Phoenix Iron Works . Although the construction was designed for two-lane traffic from the start, Serrell reduced the route to single-lane traffic. Serrell was apparently dismissed as Chief Engineer in 1873, especially since he had written to the Connecticut Railroad Commissioners and told them of his doubts about the safety of the bridges (Rapallo and Lyman Viaduct ) in particular . The commissioners had the bridges assessed by James Laurie, a senior civil engineer , and he declared them viable.
Although the route was completed in 1873, the founding crash and high construction costs led to the bankruptcy of the company and the reorganization as the Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad in 1875. After several years of competition with the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , it was leased in 1879 the route and used it from then on. In the early 20th century, the viaduct became too small for the heavy freight trains from New Haven. In 1911 the railway company had a plan approved that provided for the canalization of the Flat Brook and the filling of the viaduct. From 1912 to 1913, sand was dumped from the bridge until it was completely embedded. The filling was covered with a layer of slag and thus the viaduct was covered and preserved.
Passenger traffic on the line ended in 1937 and operations were finally ceased in 1965. In 1986 the viaduct was entered on the National Register of Historic Places when the route reopened as a rail trail .
The bridge is still backfilled, although drainage measures established in 1979 that it was largely intact. Part of the sewerage collapsed in 2007, but was rebuilt and the filling renewed in the same year. The backfill protected the bridge, while other iron structures from this period have long been destroyed. The Rapallo and Lyman Viaducts are the only two remaining bridges in Connecticut that are from the first generation of wrought iron construction.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c PDF NRHP inventory nomination: Rapallo Viaduct. Bruce Clouette, Matthew Roth, John Herzan, February 4, 1986 National Park Service and [1] Accompanying three photos, from 1986
Web links
- Article in The Courant.
- Bridgehunter.com
- Illustration in Connecticuthistory.