The Amtrak Old Saybrook–Old Lyme Bridge (Connecticut River Bridge) is a railroad bridge that carries the

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston in the north to Washington, D.C., in the south, with major stops in Providence, Rhod ...

over the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

between

Old Saybrook Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population was 10,481 at the 2020 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, an ...

and

Old Lyme, Connecticut Old Lyme is a coastal town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, bounded on the west by the Connecticut River, on the south by the Long Island Sound, on the east by the town of East Lyme, and on the north by the town of Lyme. The town ...

. It is the southernmost crossing of the river before it reaches

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. The bridge is a

truss bridge 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 ...

with a bascule span, allowing boat traffic to pass through. The bridge is owned by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

; it is used by Amtrak ''

Northeast Regional The ''Northeast Regional'' is an intercity rail service operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic United States. In the past it has been known as the ''NortheastDirect'', ''Acela Regional'', or ''Regional''. It is Amtrak's busie ...

'' and ''

Acela The ''Acela'' ( ; originally the ''Acela Express'' until September 2019) is Amtrak's flagship passenger train service along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) in the Northeastern United States between Washington, D.C. and Boston via 13 intermedia ...

'' intercity trains,

Shore Line East Shore Line East (SLE) is a commuter rail service which operates along the Northeast Corridor through southern Connecticut, United States. The rail service is a fully owned subsidiary of the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) and i ...

local trains, and

Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad (P&W; ) is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York (state), New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build ...

freight trains. A $1.3 billion replacement bridge began construction in 2024 with completion scheduled for 2031.

History

Postcard of Connecticut River railroad bridge construction

The bridge was built in 1907 by the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Company of Chicago for the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated principally in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

. It replaced an earlier bridge, which was built in 1870 and rebuilt on the same piers in 1889. The old single-track bridge was no longer able to handle the train frequency and weights that the New Haven wished to run. Construction of the new bridge began in May 1905, and the substructure was completed in April 1906. The bridge was built with two-track spans, with the abutments long enough for a second set of spans should quadruple-tracking of the line take place. The new bridge opened on August 6, 1907. The bridge underwent a structural rehabilitation in 1976, and had mechanical and electrical rehabilitation in 1981 and 1997. In 2000 the bridge experienced a major electrical failure which rendered the drawspan stuck in the open position (blocking railroad traffic). The bridge became stuck in the closed position twice in 2001. A 2006 inspection found the bridge to be structurally deficient and determined that periodic rehabilitation work was no longer sufficient to keep the century-old bridge functional. The bridge was determined to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, but it was not finally listed due to owner objection. National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form.

Replacement

The structurally deficient bridge is planned for replacement. An Environmental Assessment released in May 2014 identified two preferred alternatives: a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...

similar in size to the existing span, or a

vertical lift bridge A vertical-lift bridge or just lift bridge is a type of movable bridge in which a span rises vertically while remaining parallel with the deck. The vertical lift offers several benefits over other movable bridges such as the bascule and swin ...

with possibly increased clearances. Either option would be built on a parallel alignment just south of the existing bridge. Fully high-level designs without movable sections were eliminated from consideration due to the massive approaches that would have to be built, which would have major impacts on nearby wetlands and increase construction and land acquisition costs. Construction staging plans were released in April 2020. Those plans call for a replacement bascule bridge south of the existing span, with clearance in the closed position increased from to . Operating speed will increase from over the existing bridge to over the new bridge. Amtrak and CTDOT were awarded $65.2 million in federal funds for the replacement in October 2020. By October 2022, Amtrak planned to begin the procurement process in early 2023 and award the construction contract later that year. Construction was to begin in early 2024. In mid-2023, Amtrak applied for a federal grant to replace the bridge. Amtrak was awarded $827 million in

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL),H.R. 3684 is a United States federal statute enacted by the 117th United States Congress and signed into law by President Joe Biden on Nov ...

funds in November 2023. Amtrak will contribute an additional $148 million, while the state of Connecticut will provide $58 million. Amtrak awarded the construction contract to a joint venture of O&G and Tutor Perini in June 2024. Total project cost is expected to be $1.3 billion. Construction began in September 2024, with completion expected in 2031.

References

External links

* {{Connecticut River Bridges over the Connecticut River Railroad bridges in Connecticut Old Lyme, Connecticut Old Saybrook, Connecticut Bascule bridges in the United States Bridges completed in 1907 Bridges in Middlesex County, Connecticut Bridges in New London County, Connecticut New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad bridges Truss bridges in the United States Steel bridges in the United States 1907 establishments in Connecticut Northeast Corridor Baltimore truss bridges

History

Replacement

See also

References

External links