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Amtrak opens new Niantic River bridge
Good for Amtrak, but some fine, future day down the road all draws on the NEC will disappear in favor of high-level bridge crossings with gradual, high speed approaches. One fine day. Until then, this is much better. And Porter swing in NJ is on the short list now, right?
Great Picture accompanying the article. Let’s keep adding them!!
How can # 67 be the last train if the old bridge will be in “use until November?”
really interesting…an all new bascule bridge!
I see it’s fitted with shielded overhead, which is also part of the new Portland Streetcar installation on the historic Broadway Bridge across the Willamette River. I have never seen such “rigid” catenary designed for all-pantographs pickup and wonder if it’s meant to minimize ice buildup in a high-humidity winter environment. Why has such technology not been used in similar settings in the past?
This is indeed a welcome time for Amtrak to get this new bridge in commission. Having operated boats in and out of the Niantic River from the 1960s into the early 1980s, I can tell you that the old bridge was problematic for years, having been stuck inside or outside the old bridge, when it could not be opened. Hopefully, this new bascule lift bridge will be beneficial not only to Amtrak, but also to the boaters as well. This bridge is quite a unique design, simplified, compared to the old one, and I hope it will serve well for many years to come. Once this project is complete, I wonder when the Connecticut River bridge…between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook will be replaced. This span is also 105 years old. It is amazing how all these movable bridges along the Northeast Corridor have lasted as long as they have.