Arrawanna Bridge

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.[1] The bridge is now closed to all traffic.

Arrawanna Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Berlin St. at Coginchaug R., Middletown, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°33′46″N 72°40′0″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1918 (1918)
Architect	Connecticut Highway Department
Architectural style	open-spandrel concrete arch
NRHP reference No.	04001092[1]
Added to NRHP	September 29, 2004

Description and history

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.[2]

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."[2]^:9

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.[2]

Berlin Street was at that time the major route leading north from downtown Middletown. In 1974 and 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.[2]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Middletown, Connecticut
• List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Bruce Clouette (March 31, 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Arrawanna". National Park Service. and Accompanying four photos from 2003 and 2001 (see photo captions page 12 of text document)