Bulkeley Bridge

Bulkeley Bridge
Bulkeley Bridge
	Bulkeley Bridge in March 2013
Coordinates	41°46′08″N 72°39′54″W / 41.769°N 72.665°W
Carries	8 lanes of I-84 / US 6 / US 44, bikes/pedestrians
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Hartford, Connecticut and East Hartford, Connecticut
Official name	Morgan G. Bulkeley Bridge
Maintained by	ConnDOT
Characteristics
Design	stone arch bridge
Total length	1,075 feet (328 m)
Width	110 feet (34 m)
Longest span	119 feet (36 m)
Clearance below	39 feet (12 m)
History
Construction start	1903
Construction end	1908
Opened	1908
Statistics
Toll
	Morgan G. Bulkeley Bridge
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	I-84 / US 6 / US 44, Hartford and East Hartford
Coordinates	41°46′10″N 72°39′55″W / 41.76944°N 72.66528°W
Built	1908
Architect	Graves, Edwin D., Wheelwright, Edmund M.
Architectural style	Classical Revival
NRHP reference No.	93001347
Added to NRHP	December 10, 1993
Location
	Interactive map of Bulkeley Bridge

The Bulkeley Bridge (also known as Hartford Bridge, Bridge No. 980A) is the oldest of three highway bridges over the Connecticut River between Hartford, Connecticut and East Hartford, Connecticut. A stone arch bridge composed of nine spans, the bridge carries Interstate 84, U.S. Route 6, and U.S. Route 44 across the river. As of 2005, the bridge carried an average daily traffic of 142,500 cars.^[3] The arches are mounted on stone piers, and vary in length from 68 feet (21 m) to 119 feet (36 m); the total length of the bridge is 1,192 feet (363 m).^[4]

Completed in 1908,^[4] the Bulkeley Bridge is the oldest bridge in the Hartford area and one of the oldest bridges still in use in the Interstate Highway System. It is also the largest and one of the last major stone arch bridges to be built in New England.^[5]

Because of its historical, architectural and engineering significance, the Bulkeley Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.^[4]

History

Postcard view of the 1818–1895 covered bridge

The first substantial bridge across the Connecticut River at Hartford was the Hartford Toll Bridge, a two-lane covered bridge that opened in 1818. The 974 feet (297 m) span carried horse traffic, and in 1890 trolley lines were added, connecting Hartford to East Hartford and Glastonbury. On May 17, 1895, the bridge was destroyed in a fire. The flames started near the East Hartford end of the bridge, and within ten minutes had swept the entire tinder-dry structure. There had been much agitation for a new bridge, and the Hartford Courant reported a crowd of 20,000 spectators lined the banks of both sides of the river to watch the bridge burn.^[6]

Backed by civic groups who saw an opportunity to create a monumental structure, construction on a permanent "Hartford Bridge" began in 1903. Hartford's civic and business leaders were determined that the new bridge would be "an ornament to the city which should endure forever." Designed by Edward Dwight Graves, the neo-classical stone arch bridge design that was selected in 1903 stood in contrast to the various truss bridges and suspension bridges in vogue at the time.

To create a proper setting, the bridge commission tore down rows of tenements and constructed wide, landscaped approach boulevards on both sides of the river. The bridge opened on Oct. 6, 1908. At a total price tag of $3 million it was the most expensive bridge in the state, costing half-million dollars more than the Connecticut State Capitol building itself. Constructed from over 100,000 cubic yards (76,000 m³) of grey and pink granite, each ten-ton block was cut to remarkable tolerances of within a 3/8ths of an inch. When completed, the bridge connected two city streets: Morgan Street in Hartford and Hartford Avenue (now Connecticut Boulevard) in East Hartford.^[7]

After his death in 1922, the span was renamed for Senator Morgan Bulkeley. The former four-term mayor of Hartford had been instrumental in the bridge's planning process. Bulkeley also served as Governor of Connecticut and United States Senator and was serving as the third president of Hartford-based Aetna Life Insurance Company. He was also elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame as the first president of the National League.^[8]

As horse and buggy gave way to the automobile, the Bulkeley Bridge became the most important vehicular span in the state. Until 1942, the Bulkeley was the only motor vehicle bridge across the Connecticut River between Warehouse Point in East Windsor and Middletown. It handled a lot of cross-state traffic: US 5, US 6, and US 44, as well as earlier iterations of Connecticut Route 17 and Connecticut Route 101. Following a pair of horrific floods in 1936 and 1938 a series of levees were constructed along the banks of the Connecticut River, beginning Hartford's retreat from the waterfront and partially obscuring views of the bridge.^[2]

Congestion on city streets and the Bulkeley Bridge led the state to build an expressway bypass route and a new crossing just to the south, the Charter Oak Bridge, which opened in 1942. Founders Bridge, third Connecticut River crossing within the City of Hartford was inaugurated in 1958.

The traffic relief on the Bulkeley was short-lived, however, for much more significant changes were in the wings. By the late 1950s work had already begun on what is now I-84, Connecticut's main east-west corridor. Morgan Street and the carefully laid out approaches to the bridge were moved or covered first by the new interstate and later by its intersection with Interstate 91. According to urban legend, Beatrice Fox Auerbach single-handedly decided that the two Interstates would meet at the western side of the Bulkeley Bridge without a direct connection. This would force traffic to use local streets and conveniently have pass by the G. Fox & Co. department store (which was owned by Auerbach) in Downtown Hartford. I-84 would use the bridge to cross into East Hartford.

In 1964, the bridge was widened to eight lanes. However, two lanes in each direction are auxiliary, serving exits and entrances, leaving only two lanes in each direction for through traffic on I-84.

Until Riverfront Recapture efforts of the 1980s and 1990s, the bridge remained largely hidden from view behind the flood control dikes and highways.^[9]

References

^ CT DOT
^ ^a ^b Clouette, Bruce. "Bulkeley Bridge, Bridge No. 980A". Connecticut's Historic Highway Bridges. Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
^ 2005 Traffic Volumes State Maintained Highway Network (Traffic Log); State of Connecticut Department of Transportation p89.
^ ^a ^b ^c "NRHP nomination for Bulkeley Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
^ Thornton, Steve. "The Sand Hogs Set the Foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge". Connecticut History. Connecticut Humanities. Retrieved June 7, 2015.
^ Allen, Richard Sanders (2004). Covered Bridges of the Northeast. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0486436624.
^ Delany, Edmund Thomas (1983). The Connecticut River: New England's Historic Waterway. The Globe Pequot Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-87106-980-1.
^ Norton, Frederick Calvin (1905). The Governors of Connecticut. Connecticut Magazine Co. LCC F93.N88. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2006.
^ Rothman, Sam (July 13, 2012). "The Bulkeley Bridge: An Architectural Treasure". ONE New England. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

External links

[1] CT DOT

[Clouette-2] Clouette, Bruce. "Bulkeley Bridge, Bridge No. 980A". Connecticut's Historic Highway Bridges. Archived from the original on December 15, 2006. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

[3] 2005 Traffic Volumes State Maintained Highway Network (Traffic Log); State of Connecticut Department of Transportation p89.

[NRHP-4] "NRHP nomination for Bulkeley Bridge". National Park Service. Retrieved December 8, 2014.

[5] Thornton, Steve. "The Sand Hogs Set the Foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge". Connecticut History. Connecticut Humanities. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

[6] Allen, Richard Sanders (2004). Covered Bridges of the Northeast. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. pp. 74–75. ISBN 0486436624.

[7] Delany, Edmund Thomas (1983). The Connecticut River: New England's Historic Waterway. The Globe Pequot Press. p. 91. ISBN 978-0-87106-980-1.

[GovCTBook-8] Norton, Frederick Calvin (1905). The Governors of Connecticut. Connecticut Magazine Co. LCC F93.N88. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved December 29, 2006.

[9] Rothman, Sam (July 13, 2012). "The Bulkeley Bridge: An Architectural Treasure". ONE New England. Retrieved June 7, 2015.

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v t e National Register of Historic Places in Hartford, Connecticut
Historic districts	Allen Place–Lincoln Street Ann Street Asylum Avenue Bedford-Garden Streets Buckingham Square Capen-Clark Cedar Hill Cemetery Charter Oak Place Clay Hill Collins and Townley Streets Colt Armory Congress Street Department Store Downtown North Elm Street Fairfield Avenue Frog Hollow Goodwin Hotel Grandview Terrace Boulevard Hartford Golf Club High Street Imlay and Laurel Streets Jefferson-Seymour Laurel and Marshall Streets Lewis Street Block Little Hollywood Main Street No. 2 Nook Farm Oxford-Whitney Streets Parkside Parkville Pratt Street Prospect Avenue Sigourney Square Sisson-South Whitney South Green Trinity College Long Walk Upper Albany Watkinson School West Boulevard West End North West End South
Historic properties	777 Main Street Aetna Diner Ambassador Apartments Amos Bull House Apartment at 49–51 Spring Street Arthur G. Pomeroy House B.P.O. Elks Lodge Batterson Block Beth Hamedrash Hagodol Synagogue Bloomfield Avenue Meeting House Boce W. Barlow Jr. House Building at 136–138 Collins Street Building at 142 Collins Street Building at 83–85 Sigourney Street Bulkeley Bridge Bushnell Park Butler-McCook Homestead Calvin Day House Capewell Horse Nail Company Charter Oak Bank Building Cheney Building Chevry Lomday Mishnayes Synagogue Christ Church Cathedral Church of the Good Shepherd and Parish House Connecticut State Library Day House Day-Taylor House Dillon Building Dr. Frank T. Simpson House Elizabeth Park Engine Company 1 Fire Station Engine Company 15 Fire Station Engine Company 16 Fire Station Engine Company 2 Fire Station Engine Company 6 Fire Station Engine Company 9 Fire Station First Church of Christ and the Ancient Burying Ground First National Bank Building Footguard Hall Fourth Congregational Church Fuller Brush Company Factory Complex Hartford Club Hartford Electric Light Company Maple Avenue Sub-Station Hartford International University for Religion and Peace Hartford Special Machinery Company Complex Hartford Union Station Hotel America House at 140 and 144 Retreat Avenue House at 36 Forest Street Hyde-St. John House Isham-Terry House James B. Colt House James Pratt Funeral Service John and Isabella Hooker House Judd and Root Building Keney Tower Lucius Barbour House Lyman House M. Swift and Sons Company Mansuy and Smith Automobile Showroom Building Marietta Canty House Mather Homestead Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church Municipal Building Myers and Gross Building Neiditz Building North-West School Northam Memorial Chapel and Gallup Memorial Gateway Old North Cemetery Perkins–Clark House Phoenix Life Insurance Company Building Royal Typewriter Company Building Saint Anthony Hall Second Church of Christ Southern New England Telephone Company Building Spencer House Spring Grove Cemetery St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church Stackpole, Moore, and Tryon Building State Arsenal and Armory Stone Bridge Sts. Cyril and Methodius Church Temple Beth Israel The Village Underwood Computing Machine Company Factory Union Baptist Church Vine Street Apartment Buildings Wadsworth Atheneum Washington Street School Webster Memorial Building Wethersfield Avenue Car Barn Widows' Home Wilfred X. Johnson House William L. Linke House William R. Cotter Federal Building Windsor Avenue Congregational Church
National Historic Landmark Districts	Coltsville
National Historic Landmarks	A. Everett Austin House Connecticut State Capitol Harriet Beecher Stowe House Henry Barnard House Mark Twain House Old State House
Former	Capitol Building
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford, Connecticut, and List of National Historic Landmarks in Connecticut

Bulkeley Bridge

History

See also

References

External links