Niantic River Bridge
| Niantic River Railroad Bridge | |
|---|---|
The 2012 replacement bridge towers over the 1907 bridge
|
|
| Coordinates | 41°19′22″N 72°10′37″W / 41.3227°N 72.1769°WCoordinates: 41°19′22″N 72°10′37″W / 41.3227°N 72.1769°W |
| Carries | 2 tracks of Northeast Corridor |
| Crosses | Niantic River (Nav MP 0.0) |
| Locale | East Lyme and Waterford, Connecticut |
| Official name | Niantic River Bascule Bridge CT 116.74 |
| Maintained by | Amtrak |
| Characteristics | |
| Total length | 373 feet (114 m) (movable span 140 feet (43 m)) |
| Clearance below | 16 feet (4.9 m) when closed |
| History | |
| Opened | 2012 (new span) 1907 (original) |
| Closed | 2012 (original) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 54 trains (38 Amtrak, 14 commuter, 2 freight) (2013) |
 Niantic River RR Bridge
|
|
Niantic River Bridge, also known as Amtrak Bascule Bridge No. 116.74, is a railroad bridge carrying Amtrak's Northeast Corridor line across the Niantic River between East Lyme and Waterford, Connecticut. It is a drawbridge with a bascule-type draw span. A new bridge was constructed in 2012 to replace the former span built in 1907. It opened on September 8, 2012. Related construction work finished in June 2013.
The main bridge structure, a 68-foot (21 m) Scherzer through-girder bascule design, was built by the King Bridge Company in 1907 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. It was one of eight moveable bridges on the Amtrak route through Connecticut surveyed in one multiple property study in 1986. The eight bridges, from west to east, are: Mianus River Railroad Bridge at Cos Cob, built in 1904; Norwalk River Railroad Bridge at Norwalk, 1896; Saugatuck River Railroad Bridge at Westport, 1905; Pequonnock River Railroad Bridge at Bridgeport, 1902; Housatonic River Railroad Bridge, at Devon, 1905; Connecticut River Railroad Bridge, Old Saybrook-Old Lyme, 1907; this, the Niantic River Bridge, East Lyme-Waterford, 1907; and the Thames River Bridge, Groton, built in 1919.
The bridge was deemed eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, but was not listed due to owner objection, with decision reference number 87002124.
...
Wikipedia