Washington Avenue Bridge (Waterbury, Connecticut)
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The Washington Avenue Bridge is a historic
lenticular truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...
bridge carrying Washington Avenue over the Mad River in
Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in 20 ...
. Built in 1881, it is the oldest known surviving example of a lenticular pony truss bridge built by the Corrugated Metal Company, later known as the
Berlin Iron Bridge Company The Berlin Iron Bridge Company was a Berlin, Connecticut company that built iron bridges and buildings that were supported by iron. It is credited as the architect of numerous bridges and buildings now listed on the U.S. National Register of Hi ...
, a prolific bridge maker in New England of the late 19th century. The bridge was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 2001.


Description and history

The Washington Avenue Bridge stands in a busy industrial and commercial area south of downtown Waterbury, carrying Washington Avenue over the Mad River just west of South Main Street. The bridge is oriented east-west while the river flows from northeast to southwest, resulting in an offset of the trusses which historically supported its weight. The trusses are lenticular pony trusses fabricated out of wrought iron, with pinned connections and decorative finials atop the posts supporting the truss ends. The trusses are long and have a maximum depth of . The bridge deck is wide, and is about above the typical river level. The deck is now supported by steel beams inserted underneath the decking; steel beams also supported the sidewalks set outside the trusses. With The bridge was built in 1881 by the Corrugated Metal Company, which was later renamed to its better-known name, the Berlin Iron Bridge Company. This bridge is the earliest known example of the company's distinctive lenticular trusses, and embodies construction materials and methods (wrought iron and pinned connections in particular) which went completely out of use by the end of the 19th century. By that time, bridge designs had also largely been standardized, and lenticular trusses were no longer normally built. This bridge is also unusual among surviving lenticular truss bridges in its urban setting, and the survival of some of its decorative features, which were rarely placed on bridges in rural settings.


See also

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National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven County, Connecticut __NOTOC__ This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in New Haven County, Connecticut. It is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, ...
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List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut This is a list of bridges and tunnels on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. state of Connecticut. References {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Bridges On The National Register Of Historic Places In Connecticut Connecticut Bridges ...


References

{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut Bridges completed in 1881 Bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Buildings and structures in Waterbury, Connecticut