View source for Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge

{{Infobox Bridge
|bridge_name=Sikorsky Memorial Bridge
|image=Sikorskybridge.jpg
|caption=Traveling eastbound (toward Milford) on the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge in June 2007.
|official_name=[[Igor Sikorsky]] Memorial Bridge
|carries=6 lanes of the {{Jctname|state=CT|Route|15|name1=[[Merritt Parkway]]}}
|crosses=[[Housatonic River]]
|locale=Between [[Stratford, Connecticut|Stratford]] and [[Milford, Connecticut]]
|maint=[[Connecticut Department of Transportation]]<ref>[http://www.ct.gov/dot/site/default.asp Connecticut Department of Transportation]</ref>
|id=
|design=steel continuous stringer/multi-beam
|length=1,800 ft (548.6 m)
|width=53 ft (16.2 m)
|height=
|load=
|clearance=
|below=85 ft (25.9 m)
|traffic=79,700
|opened=1940 (original span) reconstructed 2000-2006
|closed=
|toll=(Until 1988) $0.35
|map_cue=
|map_image=
|map_text=
|map_width=
|coordinates={{coord|41|14|47|N|73|05|29|W|region:US-CT_type:landmark_scale:10000|display=inline-title}}
|lat=
|long=
}}

The '''Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge''' (also known as the '''Sikorsky Memorial Bridge''', and as  the '''Housatonic River Bridge''') carries the [[controlled-access highway|controlled-access]] [[Merritt Parkway]] ([[Connecticut Route 15]]) over the [[Housatonic River]], between [[Stratford, Connecticut|Stratford]] and [[Milford, Connecticut|Milford]], [[Connecticut]].

The first bridge on the site, known as the '''Sikorsky Bridge''',  was completed in 1940, marking the completion of the [[Merritt Parkway]] and the starting point for construction of the adjoining [[Wilbur Cross Parkway]], September 2, 1940.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.trumbullhistory.org/merrittpkwy/ 
 |title=The Merritt Parkway &mdash; The Queen of All Parkways 
 |author=Charles R. Roth 
 |publisher=Trumbull, Connecticut Historical Society 
 |year=2007 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002224618/http://www.trumbullhistory.org/merrittpkwy/ 
 |archive-date=2007-10-02 
}}</ref> It featured two lanes in each direction, and open steel grid decking that saved cost to stay within budget <ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.trumbullhistory.org/merrittpkwy/ 
 |title=The Merritt Parkway &mdash; The Queen of All Parkways 
 |publisher=Trumbull, Connecticut Historical Society 
 |author=Charles R. Roth 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002224618/http://www.trumbullhistory.org/merrittpkwy/ 
 |archive-date=2007-10-02 
}}</ref>
and was unpopular with drivers.<ref>{{cite web
   |url=http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/merrittpkwy.html
   |title=The Merritt Parkway &mdash; Goodbye steel bridge
   |author=Kurumi
   |year=2007
}}</ref> A toll plaza stood at the eastern end of the Sikorsky Bridge until Connecticut abolished tolls in 1988, and is now preserved in Stratford at the [[Boothe Memorial Park and Museum]].

The Sikorsky Bridge was named after aviation pioneer [[Igor Sikorsky]], whose [[Sikorsky Aircraft|helicopter factory]] remains located north of the roadway, along the western riverfront, immediately north of the approach to the bridge - which in the 21st century operates as  a component of [[Lockheed Martin]] Corporation.

After years of environmental studies, the [[Connecticut Department of Transportation]] awarded an $87 million contract to [[Balfour Beatty Construction]] to build the replacement bridge, the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge, in 2000.<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19046524&BRD=1347&PAG=461&dept_id=432990&rfi=6 
 |title=New bridge wins praise 
 |author=Jill K. Dion 
 |publisher=Milford Mirror 
 |date=November 21, 2007 
 |access-date=2007-12-22 
}}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>  The southern half of the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge opened in 2003; the Sikorsky Bridge was demolished in 2004.  In February 2004, the load unexpectedly shifted on a crane that was removing structural steel from the old bridge. The crane overturned and fell into the partially frozen Housatonic River, killing its operator.

The remaining half of the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge was completed in 2006, two years behind schedule.<ref>{{cite web
   |url=https://highways.dot.gov/about/field-offices
   |title=What's New - Connecticut Division
   |publisher=Federal Highway Administration
   |date=August 11, 2006
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
   |url=http://www.nycroads.com/roads/merritt/
   |title=Merritt Parkway &mdash; Historic Overview
   |publisher=Eastern Roads
   |year=2006
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url          = http://www.metropool.com/constructioninformation/construction_cp_sbrp.html
 |title        = Sikorsky Bridge Replacement Project
 |publisher    = MetroPool
 |year         = 2006
 |access-date  = 2007-09-19
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20040429033627/http://www.metropool.com/constructioninformation/construction_cp_sbrp.html
 |archive-date = 2004-04-29
 |url-status     = dead
}}</ref> The new bridge has a concrete deck, with an asphalt surface, three lanes in each direction, full left and right shoulders, a sidewalk for pedestrians, [[wrought-iron]] railing, and aesthetic lighting.  The bridge also includes a system of concrete [[Bridge protection systems|fenders]] that protects the bridge piers from ship collisions, a feature that was absent from the 1940 span.

In 2006, the new bridge was formally dedicated as the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge.

==See also==
*[[List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Connecticut]]
*[[List of crossings of the Housatonic River]]
* [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]
* [[Sikorsky Memorial Airport]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{HAER |survey=CT-177 |id=ct0656 |title=Bridge No. 00761, Spanning Housatonic River at State Route No. 15, Milford, New Haven County, CT |photos=60 |data=16 |cap=4}}
*{{Structurae |id=20002449 |title=Sikorsky Bridge (1939)}}
*{{Structurae |id=20011509 |title=Sikorsky Memorial Bridge (2003)}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070820140211/http://www.bergerlehman.com/constr2.htm Construction Inspection - Sikorsky Bridge over the Housatonic River Milford/Stratford, Connecticut]

{{Crossings navbox
|structure       = Crossings
|place           = [[Housatonic River]]
|bridge          = Igor Sikorsky Memorial Bridge
|bridge signs    = [[Image:Connecticut Highway 15.svg|20px]]
|upstream        = [[Commodore Hull Bridge]]
|upstream signs  = [[Image:Connecticut Highway 8.svg|20px]]
|downstream      = [[Metro North railroad bridge (Housatonic)|Metro North railroad bridge]]
|downstream signs = 
}}

[[Category:Buildings and structures in Milford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Stratford, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 1940]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 2003]]
[[Category:Bridges completed in 2006]]
[[Category:Bridges in Fairfield County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Bridges in New Haven County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Monuments and memorials in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Road bridges in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Former toll bridges in Connecticut]]
[[Category:Bridges over the Housatonic River]]
[[Category:Steel bridges in the United States]]
[[Category:1940 establishments in Connecticut]]