Completed in 1908,[4] the Bulkeley Bridge is the oldest bridge in the Hartford area and one of the oldest bridges still in use in the Interstate Highway System. It is also the largest and one of the last major stone arch bridges to be built in New England.[5]
Because of its historical, architectural and engineering significance, the Bulkeley Bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.[4]
History
Postcard view of the 1818–1895 covered bridgePostcard illustration of "the new bridge", 1904.
The first substantial bridge across the Connecticut River at Hartford was the Hartford Toll Bridge, a two-lane covered bridge that opened in 1818. The 974 feet (297 m) span carried horse traffic, and in 1890 trolley lines were added, connecting Hartford to East Hartford and Glastonbury. On May 17, 1895, the bridge was destroyed in a fire. The flames started near the East Hartford end of the bridge, and within ten minutes had swept the entire tinder-dry structure. There had been much agitation for a new bridge, and the Hartford Courant reported a crowd of 20,000 spectators lined the banks of both sides of the river to watch the bridge burn.[6]
Backed by civic groups who saw an opportunity to create a monumental structure, construction on a permanent "Hartford Bridge" began in 1903. Hartford's civic and business leaders were determined that the new bridge would be "an ornament to the city which should endure forever." Designed by Edward Dwight Graves, the neo-classical stone arch bridge design that was selected in 1903 stood in contrast to the various truss bridges and suspension bridges in vogue at the time.
To create a proper setting, the bridge commission tore down rows of tenements and constructed wide, landscaped approach boulevards on both sides of the river. The bridge opened on Oct. 6, 1908. At a total price tag of $3 million it was the most expensive bridge in the state, costing half-million dollars more than the Connecticut State Capitol building itself. Constructed from over 100,000 cubic yards (76,000 m3) of grey and pink granite, each ten-ton block was cut to remarkable tolerances of within a 3/8ths of an inch. When completed, the bridge connected two city streets: Morgan Street in Hartford and Hartford Avenue (now Connecticut Boulevard) in East Hartford.[7]
As horse and buggy gave way to the automobile, the Bulkeley Bridge became the most important vehicular span in the state. Until 1942, the Bulkeley was the only motor vehicle bridge across the Connecticut River between Warehouse Point in East Windsor and Middletown. It handled a lot of cross-state traffic: US 5, US 6, and US 44, as well as earlier iterations of Connecticut Route 17 and Connecticut Route 101. Following a pair of horrific floods in 1936 and 1938 a series of levees were constructed along the banks of the Connecticut River, beginning Hartford's retreat from the waterfront and partially obscuring views of the bridge.[9]
I-91 and the Bulkeley Bridge in 2017
Congestion on city streets and the Bulkeley Bridge led the state to build an expressway bypass route and a new crossing just to the south, the Charter Oak Bridge, which opened in 1942. Founders Bridge, third Connecticut River crossing within the City of Hartford was inaugurated in 1958.
The traffic relief on the Bulkeley was short-lived, however, for much more significant changes were in the wings. By the late 1950s work had already begun on what is now I-84, Connecticut's main east-west corridor. Morgan Street and the carefully laid out approaches to the bridge were moved or covered first by the new interstate and later by its intersection with Interstate 91. According to urban legend, Beatrice Fox Auerbach single-handedly decided that the two Interstates would meet at the western side of the Bulkeley Bridge without a direct connection. This would force traffic to use local streets and conveniently have pass by the G. Fox & Co. department store (which was owned by Auerbach) in Downtown Hartford. I-84 would use the bridge to cross into East Hartford.
In 1964, the bridge was widened to eight lanes. However, two lanes in each direction are auxiliary, serving exits and entrances, leaving only two lanes in each direction for through traffic on I-84.
Until Riverfront Recapture efforts of the 1980s and 1990s, the bridge remained largely hidden from view behind the flood control dikes and highways.[10]
