norwalk river bridge – I Ride The Harlem Line https://www.iridetheharlemline.com Art, history, railroad, & photography adventures from Harlem & beyond. Thu, 01 Jan 2015 18:27:27 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Bridges of Metro-North: The Norwalk River Bridge, Part 1 https://www.iridetheharlemline.com/2015/01/01/bridges-of-metro-north-the-norwalk-river-bridge-part-1/ https://www.iridetheharlemline.com/2015/01/01/bridges-of-metro-north-the-norwalk-river-bridge-part-1/#comments Thu, 01 Jan 2015 18:27:27 +0000 http://www.iridetheharlemline.com/?p=9971 Continuing into the new year with our visits to some of Metro-North’s movable bridges, today’s feature is the Norwalk River Bridge. This bridge, owned by the state of Connecticut, is commonly known as WALK, and is the bane of the New Haven Line. Built in 1896, the bridge is one of many pieces of practically ancient infrastructure you’ll find along the line. Prone to getting stuck open and preventing trains from crossing – which happened several times last year – the historical bridge is badly in need of a replacement or serious upgrade. For the interim, attempts have been made to open the bridge less frequently, and to have crews standing by when the bridge does open to hopefully prevent any issues. While I had been under the impression that the bridge would be staying shut while repairs were under way starting in June, I was lucky enough to capture an opening of the bridge on November 8th, much to my surprise.

Constructed for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, the Norwalk River Bridge is a 562-foot long rim bearing swing bridge. Sitting about 16 feet above the water, the bridge’s 202 foot long center deck rotates along a center point to allow marine traffic to pass. When opening, rail locks are released, the rail ends are lifted, catenary wire is separated, wedge locks are withdrawn, and bridge locks are released. Only then can the machinery located at the center pier under the tracks can do its work to swing the bridge open. All of these delicate maneuvers need to happen in concert, which is difficult considering the age of the machinery involved. Also complicating matters for repairs is the fact that the old movable bridges on the Northeast Corridor are all unique – there was no standard for construction, and each bridge has unique mechanical components.

    
Photos from 1977 aerial survey of the Northeast Corridor, from the Library of Congress.

Unlike the Harlem River Lift Bridge that we featured a few weeks ago, the Norwalk River Bridge is frequently opened. In addition to the 140 or more trains that cross the bridge daily, the bridge is opened 20 to 30 times a month to allow large ships access to businesses upriver. On average, the bridge failed to close properly 10% of the time, and two high profile failures on Thursday, May 29, and Friday, June 6, 2014 brought the bridge’s issues to the fore.

While previously only repairs to the bridge were really talked about, now Connecticut lawmakers are pushing for an outright replacement of the bridge, a project estimated to cost $465 million. Two thirds of that price tag will come from federal funds, while the rest will come from the state of Connecticut. If everything goes to plan, construction will begin in 2017, with a target completion date of 2020.

A second part to this post will be upcoming, which will include a video of the bridge opening and closing, so stay tuned!

                   

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