Rating:
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Mystic River Bascule Bridge

New London County, Connecticut

Photos 

Photo taken by John Reidy

Enlarge

BH Photo #176189

Map 

Street View 

Description 

The Mystic River Bridge is significant as an example of the Brown Balance Beam Bascule, an innovative design that raised movable-bridge technology to a new level of refinement in the early 20th century. The bridge also has historical significance because it completed the State Highway Department's improvement program for coastal Route 1, Connecticut's most important "Trunk Line" highway.

-- Historic American Engineering Record

Facts 

Overview
Bascule bridge over Mystic River on US 1 West Main Street at Mystic
Location
Mystic, New London County, Connecticut
Status
Open to traffic
History
Built 1922
Builders
- American Bridge Co. of New York
- Cianbro Corporation of Pittsfield, Maine (Rehab)
- J.E. FitzGerald Construction Co. of New London, Connecticut (Construction)
- Thomas Ellis Brown (Design)
Railroad
- Groton & Stonington Street Railway (G&S)
Design
Bascule Deck plate girder
Dimensions
Length of largest span: 85.0 ft.
Total length: 220.2 ft.
Deck width: 33.1 ft.
Recognition
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places
Approximate latitude, longitude
+41.35444, -71.96944   (decimal degrees)
41°21'16" N, 71°58'10" W   (degrees°minutes'seconds")
Approximate UTM coordinates
19/251593/4582359 (zone/easting/northing)
Quadrangle map:
Mystic
Average daily traffic (as of 2015)
11,800
Inventory numbers
CT 362 (Connecticut bridge number)
BH 12203 (Bridgehunter.com ID)
Inspection report (as of May 2017)
Overall condition: Fair
Superstructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Substructure condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Deck condition rating: Satisfactory (6 out of 9)
Sufficiency rating: 83 (out of 100)
View more at BridgeReports.com

Categories 

American Bridge Co. (1,690)
Bascule (1,105)
Built 1922 (751)
Built during 1920s (10,349)
Cianbro Corporation (16)
Connecticut (847)
Deck girder (6,460)
Girder (11,434)
Groton & Stonington Street Railway (2)
HAER documented (1,136)
Have street view (30,042)
J.E. FitzGerald Construction Co. (1)
 Movable (3,169)
Mystic, Connecticut (7)
NR-listed (3,025)
Navigable waterway (2,234)
New London County, Connecticut (76)
Open (41,256)
Owned by state (16,705)
Plate girder (8,956)
Span length 75-100 feet (6,758)
Thomas Ellis Brown (3)
Total length 175-250 feet (4,627)
US 1 (111)

Update Log 

  • December 12, 2020: New photos from Josh Schmid
  • November 11, 2015: New photos from Douglas Butler
  • August 17, 2015: Updated by Douglas Butler: Added explaining info
  • February 18, 2015: Photo imported by Dave King
  • December 29, 2014: HAER photos posted by Dave King
  • July 18, 2014: New photos from Douglas Butler
  • August 20, 2013: Photo imported by Dave King
  • October 3, 2012: New photos from Jann Mayer
  • March 23, 2012: Photos imported by James Baughn
  • March 19, 2011: Updated by J.P.: updated location
  • September 5, 2010: New photo from John Reidy

Related Bridges 

Sources 

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Comments 

Mystic River Bascule Bridge
Posted July 5, 2022, by Nathan Holth (webmaster [at] historicbridges [dot] org)

Not sure if its exactly what you are looking for, but I do have full videos with sound for a raise/lower of the bridge on my page https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=c...

Mystic River Bascule Bridge
Posted July 4, 2022, by Nancy (nancylovesbubba [at] gmail [dot] com)

I would love to hear the bridge from the point where the alarm sounds to when the arms go back up.

Mystic River Bridge
Posted March 25, 2008, by phil jackson (pjackingson [at] xnxx [dot] com)

cool man