The Saugatuck River Bridge is a bridge in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

carrying Route 136 over the

Saugatuck River The Saugatuck River is a river in southwestern Connecticut in the United States. It drains part of suburban and rural Fairfield County west of Bridgeport, emptying into Long Island Sound. , a U.S. Navy oiler that saw service in World War II, w ...

in Westport. The bridge, built in 1884, is the oldest surviving

movable bridge A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical d ...

in Connecticut and is 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 ...

. The total length of the bridge is with a deck width of and a minimum vertical clearance of above the river. The bridge carries an average of about 16,000 vehicles per day. In 2007, the bridge was named the William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge.Westport Now, October 7, 2007
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History

In 1746, a ferry was established to carry traffic over the Saugatuck River near Westport, and around 1807 it was replaced by the first bridge as part of the old

Connecticut Turnpike The Connecticut Turnpike (officially the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike) is a controlled-access highway and former toll road in the U.S. state of Connecticut; it is maintained by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDOT). Span ...

. By 1857 the need to replace this bridge was apparent, and the town spent a total of $22,500 in 1869 to build a wooden bridge in its place. Within the ten years it took to pay that bridge off, shipworms had rendered it nearly impassable, and Westport had to build another bridge over the Saugatuck. Five years later, in 1884, the town contracted with Union Bridge Company of

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

, to build a

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.08%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4%). It is a semi-fused mass of iron with fibrous slag inclusions (up to 2% by weight), which give it a wood-like "grain" ...

bridge. Union Bridge Company, a leading but short-lived pioneer in swing bridge construction, was the only company to submit a bid for the job. The new bridge cost $26,700, not including $362 to remove the shipworm-infested remains of the 1869 wooden bridge. The bridge is the oldest surviving

in Connecticut. The movable bridge allows waterborne traffic to easily pass, which was crucial to the area's economy at the time. The bridge consists of a fixed approach span on the eastern side, and a hand-cranked movable span. Both spans are pin-connected

Pratt through truss A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

designs made of wrought iron.Connecticut's Historic Highway Bridges
- Saugatuck River Bridge The bridge was listed on the

(NRHP) on February 12, 1987, as a rare example of an early movable iron bridge. The bridge spans were designed by Union Bridge Company president Charles Kellogg and his son Charles H. Kellogg. The bridge is also noted as being of significant importance in the historical development of the town of Westport in the 19th century, particularly in the area of maritime commerce. The importance of water-borne traffic required the town to spend additional effort and expense to build a bridge that would not inhibit such traffic. and

References

External links

* * {{National Register of Historic Places Road bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Bridges completed in 1884 Swing bridges in the United States Buildings and structures in Westport, Connecticut Bridges in Fairfield County, Connecticut Drawbridges on the National Register of Historic Places Historic American Engineering Record in Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in Fairfield County, Connecticut Wrought iron bridges in the United States 1884 establishments in Connecticut

History

See also

References

External links