Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge

Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge
File:IMG 3819-Norwottuck-Rail-Trail-bridge.jpg
Coordinates
Carries	Norwottuck Rail Trail
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Northampton, Massachusetts to Hadley, Massachusetts
Maintained by	MassDOT
Characteristics
Design	steel lattice truss bridge
Total length	approximately 1,492 feet (454.76 m)
Longest span	approximately 200 feet (61 m)
History
Opened	1887, 1992
Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge Location in Massachusetts

The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge (also known as the Northampton Lattice Truss Bridge) is a former crossing of Boston and Maine Railroad over the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley, by the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which is currently used for bicycle and foot traffic.

History and construction of the bridge

The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge is an eight-span steel lattice truss bridge. It crosses Elwell Island in the middle of the river, providing no access to the island in an attempt to keep the island otherwise untouched. Riding over the bridge shows eight spans, with two of them over Elwell Island. It was built by the R. F. Hawkins Ironworks Company.

To survive the 1936 flood, railroad cars loaded with scrap metal were placed on the bridge to weigh it down.

The bridge was redesigned by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. of Watertown, rebuilt by MassHighway, and opened in 1992 to bicycle and foot traffic as part of the Norwottuck Rail Trail.

See also

• List of crossings of the Connecticut River
• Norwottuck Rail Trail

External links

• Images of the Northampton Lattice Truss Bridge - Library of Congress
• Image of the Connecticut River Truss Bridge, ca. 1906
• Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.