The Housatonic River Railroad Bridge is a historic bridge carrying Metro-North Railroad 's New Haven Line trackage across the lower Housatonic River in the U.S. state of Connecticut . The bridge is also used by Amtrak for its Northeast Corridor services. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, which also refers to the bridge as the Devon Bridge . It is also referred to as the Devon Railroad Bridge by the state Department of Environmental Protection .
7-522: It is a "Scherzer Rolling Lift Bascule"-type bascule bridge . It has a steel superstructure and block stone piers. The moveable span is a Warren through truss span. The current bridge is the fourth railroad span in the same location, originally known as Naugatuck Junction. The original bridge was the first railroad bridge over the Housatonic river, built by the New York and New Haven Railroad , and
14-617: The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . Its completion finished the quadruple-tracking of the New Haven mainline from Woodlawn Junction to New Haven. Repairs were planned for six months starting April 25, 2015. Amtrak was awarded up to $ 246 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds in November 2023 for design of a replacement for the span. Amtrak will contribute an additional $ 16 million, while
21-411: The counterweights to the span may be located above or below the bridge deck. The fixed- trunnion (sometimes a "Chicago" bascule) rotates around a large axle that raises the span(s). The Chicago bascule name derives from the location where it is widely used, and is a refinement by Joseph Strauss of the fixed-trunnion. The rolling lift trunnion (sometimes a "Scherzer" rolling lift), raises
28-583: The French term for balance scale , which employs the same principle. Bascule bridges are the most common type of movable span because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate, while providing the possibility for unlimited vertical clearance for marine traffic. Bascule bridges have been in use since ancient times, but until the adoption of steam power in the 1850s, very long, heavy spans could not be moved quickly enough for practical application. There are three types of bascule bridge and
35-542: The state of Connecticut will provide $ 45 million. Up to an additional $ 119 million was awarded for interim repairs to the bridge. [REDACTED] Media related to Housatonic River Railroad Bridge at Wikimedia Commons 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- or double-leafed. The name comes from
42-481: Was a double-track wrought iron Pratt truss, 1,091 feet (333 m) in length and a draw of 206 feet (63 m), built in 1884 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . The current bridge, a four-track steel with Warren through truss spans, Scherzer Bascule bridge, 1,072 feet (327 m) in length and a draw of 110 feet (34 m), was completed in 1906 by the American Bridge Company for
49-522: Was a single-track wooden covered Howe truss , 1,293 feet (394 m) in length and a draw of 134 feet (41 m), built in 1848. It was the longest covered bridge ever built in the state of Connecticut. The second bridge was a double-track cast iron Whipple truss, 1,091 feet (333 m) in length and a draw of 206 feet (63 m), built in 1872 by the Keystone Bridge Company for the New York and New Haven Railroad . The third bridge
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