Saugatuck River Bridge
Coordinates: 41 ° 7 ′ 22 " N , 73 ° 22 ′ 10" W.
| Saugatuck River Bridge | ||
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| Official name | Bridge No. 1349 | |
| Convicted | Route 136 | |
| Subjugated | Saugatuck River | |
| place | Westport , Connecticut , USA | |
| Entertained by | Connecticut Department of Transportation | |
| construction | Swing girder bridge made of iron | |
| overall length | 87.5 m | |
| width | 6.1 m | |
| Clear height | 2.1 m | |
| vehicles per day | 15,700 | |
| building-costs | $ 26,700 | |
| completion | 1884 | |
| planner | Union Bridge Co. | |
| location | ||
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The Saugatuck River Bridge is a bridge in Westport , Connecticut, United States, and runs Route 136 over the Saugatuck River . The bridge, built in 1884, is the oldest remaining movable bridge in Connecticut and has been listed as a construction on the National Register of Historic Places since February 12, 1987 . The total length of the bridge is 87.5 m and the width is 6.1 m. The clear height under the bridge is at least 2.1 m. Around 15,700 vehicles cross the bridge every day. In 2007 the bridge was renamed the William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge . A similar bridge, also located in Connecticut, is the East Haddam Bridge .
history
In 1746 a ferry was set up near Westport to put traffic across the Saugatuck River. This was replaced by the first bridge around 1807 when the Connecticut Turnpike was established. The need for a new building had become urgent in 1857, and the city spent $ 22,500 (around $ 435,000 in today's prices) to build a wooden bridge on this site in 1869. Within the ten years that the construction costs were paid off, woodworms had made the structure almost impassable, so Westport had to build another bridge over the river. Five years later, the city commissioned the Union Bridge Company of Buffalo , New York , to build a wrought iron bridge . The Union Bridge Company was the only construction company that had made an offer. The new bridge cost $ 26,700 (1884, in today's prices $ 717,000), plus the cost of demolishing the woodworm-infested bridge from 1869. The bridge is the oldest movable bridge in Connecticut. It allows the passage of ships, which was important for the economy in the region at the time. The bridge consists of a 44 m long fixed span on the east side and a movable span. Both spans consist of a riveted Pratt support structure made of wrought iron.
The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 12, 1987 . The nomination for the entry states:
“[The] Saugatuck River Bridge is significant nationally as a rare surviving example of the first generation of movable iron bridges. ... The company that built them, the Union Bridge Company of Buffalo, New York, was a leading, if short-lived, pioneer in swing bridge construction ; their spans followed the designs of the company director Charles Kellogg and his son Charles H. Kellogg. The bridge is also significant in Westport's history because it illustrates the vital role that maritime trade (especially the shipping of onions) played in the city's economy in the 19th century ... a role so important that the city made the extra effort and took on the cost of building a movable bridge so as not to hinder traffic on the water. "
Web links
- Library of Congress : Saugatuck River Bridge, Spanning Saugatuck River at Route 136, Westport, Fairfield County, CT : 20 photos and 7 data pages, @ Historic American Engineering Record . (English)
- Ten photographs from 1986 . National Register of Historic Places Nomination. (PDF, English; 3.31 MB)
- National Register Information System
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Bruce Clouette, Matthew Rot: Saugatuck River Bridge ( English ) In: Connecticut's Historic Highway Bridges . Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ Saugatuck River Bridge in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed August 1, 2017.
- ^ National Bridge Inventory ( English ) Federal Highway Administration. 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ William F. Cribari Bridge dedicated (English) , Westport Now. October 7, 2007.
- ↑ a b c Dr. Frederick Warner: Historic American Engineering Record: Saugatuck River Bridge (Connecticut Bridge No. 01349) Spanning the Saugatuck River on Route 136 ( English ) In: HAER No. CT-46 . March 29, 1991. Retrieved on October 7, 2012. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Matthew Roth, Bruce Clouette and John Herzan: National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Saugatuck River Bridge ( English , PDF, 606 kB) National Park Service. July 25, 1986. Retrieved February 9, 2011: “ Saugatuck River Bridge is significant on a national level as a rare surviving example from the first generation of movable iron bridges. ... The firm that built it, the Union Bridge Company of Buffalo, New York, was a leading, if short-lived, pioneer in swing-bridge construction; its spans followed the designs of company president Charles Kellogg and his son Charles H. Kellogg. The bridge is also significant in the history of Westport, because it illustrates the important role of maritime commerce (particularly the shipment of onions) in the town's economy during the 19th century ..., a role of sufficient importance that the town took on the additional trouble and expense of erecting a bridge that would not limit water-borne traffic. "
