The Captain John Bissell Memorial Bridge carries I-291 over the Connecticut River, connecting the towns of

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population of Windsor was 29,492 at the 2020 census. P ...

and

South Windsor, Connecticut South Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 26,918 at the 2020 census. History In 1659, Thomas Burnham (1617–1688) purchased the tract of land now covered by the towns of South Windsor and East H ...

. There is a pedestrian crossing on the bridge on the westbound, upstream side.

History and construction of the Bridge

The

Bulkeley Bridge The Bulkeley Bridge (also known as Hartford Bridge, Bridge No. 980A) is the oldest of three highway bridges over the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut. A stone arch bridge composed of nine spans, the bridge carries Interstate 84, ...

was the only bridge crossing on the Connecticut River for miles in the early 20th century. Then it was proposed in the 1930s to build two more road bridges on the river for the

Wilbur Cross Highway The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for a highway beginning at Wethersfield, running along a portion of Connecticut Route 15 and U.S. Route 5 to East Hartford, Connecticut, and then continuing northeast as a section of Interstate ...

. In 1955 the new

Charter Oak Bridge The Charter Oak Bridge is one of the three highway bridges over the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut. The twin steel stringer bridge carries the Wilbur Cross Highway ( Route 15/U.S. Route 5) over the river, connecting downtown Hartford ...

, built 10 years earlier, was not helping to ease traffic on the Bulkeley Bridge. The Greater Hartford Bridge Authority was created to build this bridge and the Putnam Bridge in

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

. An Interstate bypass was also be planned to be built in the Hartford Area, eventually becoming I-291. The bridge and bypass opened on December 16, 1957, from

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connecti ...

US 5 U.S. Route 5 (US 5) is a north–south United States highway running through the New England states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Significant cities along the route include New Haven, Connecticut; Hartford, Connecticut; and Spring ...

. The bridge was originally called Wolcott Bridge, because of the name of the road formerly carried on it. It was renamed in 1960 to its current name. A toll was charged on the bridge until a tollbooth accident in 1983, which was one of the toll accidents that resulted in statewide removal of tollbooths in the 1980s.

References

External links

* Bridges over the Connecticut River Windsor, Connecticut Bridges completed in 1958 Bridges in Hartford County, Connecticut Road bridges in Connecticut Interstate 91 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Former toll bridges in Connecticut {{Connecticut-bridge-struct-stub

History and construction of the Bridge

See also

References

External links