Reynolds Bridge

Reynolds Bridge
View from south
Coordinates	41°39′11″N 73°4′37″W
Reynolds Bridge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Area	less than one acre
Built	1928 (1928)
Architect	Connecticut Highway Department; Haggerty, Charles A.
Architectural style	open-spandrel concrete arch
NRHP reference No.	04001095
Added to NRHP	September 29, 2004
Carries	State Road 848 (Waterbury Road)
Crosses	Naugatuck River
Locale	Thomaston, Connecticut
Official name	Bridge No. 603
Maintained by	Connecticut Department of Transportation
Characteristics
Total length	148.7 m
Statistics
Daily traffic	3,100
Location

The Reynolds Bridge in Thomaston, Connecticut is an open-spandrel concrete arch bridge carrying Waterbury Road (unsigned State Road 848) over the Naugatuck River. Built in 1928, it is one of a small number of surviving open-spandrel bridges in the state. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Description and history

The Reynolds Bridge is located roughly midway between Waterbury and the town center of Thomaston, just east of Connecticut Route 8's Exit 38. It is oriented northwest-southeast, and spans the Naugatuck River, the active railroad of the Naugatuck Railroad, which run along the river's east bank, and a former right-of-way of a streetcar line which ran along the river's west bank. The bridge is a three-arch open spandrel concrete structure, with four concrete beam approach spans on either side. The main span is 169 feet (52 m) long, while the secondary arches are each 97 feet (30 m); the bridge has a total length of 487 feet (148 m). The arches are joined by crossing struts, and vertical columns rise from the arch to support the road deck. The deck has a width of 42 feet (13 m), with the sidewalks cantilevered outside the supporting arches.

At the time of its construction in 1928, the state used open-spandrel design was used for the longest concrete bridge crossings, and this was the longest designed by the Connecticut State Highway Department up to that time. The Cornwall Bridge, built a few years later over the Housatonic River, has a longer span. At the time of its National Register listing in 2004, it was one of six open-spandrel bridges in the state.

See also

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