Glen Falls Bridge
The Glen Falls Bridge is a historic bridge that formerly carried Brunswick Avenue over the Moosup River in Plainfield, Connecticut. Built in 1886 by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company, it is one of a shrinking number of surviving 19th-century lenticular truss bridges in the state. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. It has been closed to all traffic for many years.
Description and history
The Glen Falls Bridge is located on the eastern fringe of the village of Moosup, crossing the Moosup River south of North Main Street. It is approached from each end by spurs of Brunswick Avenue, with a former 19th-century mill complex just east of the bridge on the north bank of the river. It is a single-span wrought iron lenticular pony truss bridge, long, and rests on 20th-century reinforced concrete abutments. It has a roadway width of, with the trusses rising to a height of about above the road deck, which is about above the river.The bridge was manufactured by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company in 1886. When built, the road it was on was the main east-west route through the area; it was bypassed by the present alignment of Connecticut Route 14 in 1940. Although the trusses are largely original, portions of them have been replaced in the 20th century, as have the main support posts, which were replaced in 1920. The bridge is closed to both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. At the time of its National Register listing in 1999, it was one of fifteen surviving lenticular truss bridges in the state.