Arrawanna Bridge
National Register of Historic Places

Arrawanna Bridge

Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut
Listed
September 28, 2004
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
04001092

About this property

The Arrawanna Bridge is a historic bridge, spanning the Coginchaug River near Berlin Street in Middletown, Connecticut, USA. Built in 1918, it is an early example in the state of an open-spandrel concrete arch bridge, and is one of the state's oldest bridges. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. The bridge is now closed to all traffic. The Arrawanna Bridge is located west of downtown Middletown, beyond the western end of Berlin Street, which now terminates before the bridge. The bridge is an open-spandrel structure built out of reinforced concrete, with a total length of 55 feet (17 m) and an arch height of 19 feet (5.8 m). The arch is 20 feet (6.1 m) wide, with the concrete road deck supported by eight 12-inch walls rising from various points on the arch. The roadway has sidewalls 3 feet (0.91 m) high, ending at elevated piers. The bridge was built in 1918 and designed by the Connecticut Highway Department. The bridge is one of the oldest surviving structures of Connecticut's state highway department, and is the only barrel-arch design of the state's six open-spandrel bridges. "Even as a near ruin, it adds to our appreciation of the high level of technical expertise shown by the state's first bridge engineers, and it recalls the very first years of state-highway bridge construction in Connecticut." At the time it was built, reinforced concrete was a relatively new material for bridge construction. The bridge was featured in the 1918 annual report of the Connecticut Highway Department. The bridge is owned by the city of Middletown. Berlin Street was at that time the major route leading north from downtown Middletown. In 1974, a new alignment of Connecticut Route 3 bypassed Berlin Street to the west, and the bridge was closed. By 2003, the bridge was deteriorating in place, with shrubs growing in the roadway. National Register of Historic Places listings in Middletown, Connecticut List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

Location

Middletown, Middlesex County, Connecticut
41.56278, -72.66621

Categories

ENGINEERINGTRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Saint Luke's Home for Destitute and Aged Women
Industrial
0.5 mi
Washington Street Historic District
Listed
0.5 mi
Alsop, Richard IV, House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Russell, Edward Augustus, House
Industrial
0.6 mi
Russell, Samuel Wadsworth, House
Industrial
0.7 mi

Nearby Battles

Pequot War Raids on Connecticut 1636-1637
1636Colonial
9.6 mi
Wethersfield Raid (Pequot War 1637)
1637Colonial
10.3 mi
Battle of Haddam CT 1676
1676Colonial
11.4 mi

Questions about this property

When was Arrawanna Bridge listed on the National Register?

Arrawanna Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 2004.

What type of historic resource is Arrawanna Bridge?

Arrawanna Bridge is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Arrawanna Bridge?

The period of significance for Arrawanna Bridge is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1918.

Can I research the history near Arrawanna Bridge?

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