The Captain John Bissell Memorial Bridge carries I-291 over the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

, connecting the towns of

Windsor, Connecticut Windsor is a New England town, town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The town is part of ...

and

South Windsor, Connecticut South Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 26,918 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History In 165 ...

. There is a pedestrian crossing on the bridge on the westbound, upstream side.

History and construction of the Bridge

The Bulkeley Bridge was the only bridge crossing on the

for miles in the early 20th century. Then it was proposed in the 1930s to build two more road bridges on the river for the Wilbur Cross Highway. In 1955 the new

Charter Oak Bridge The Charter Oak Bridge is one of the three highway bridges over the Connecticut River between Hartford, Connecticut, and East Hartford, Connecticut. The twin steel stringer bridge carries the Wilbur Cross Highway (U.S. Route 5 in Connecticut, U ...

, built 10 years earlier, was not helping to ease traffic on the Bulkeley Bridge. The Greater Hartford Bridge Authority was created to build this bridge and the Putnam Bridge in

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

. An Interstate bypass was also planned to be built in the Hartford Area, eventually becoming I-291. The bridge and bypass opened on December 16, 1957, from

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It is the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. Its southern terminus is in New Haven, ...

to US 5. The bridge was originally called Wolcott Bridge, because of the name of the road formerly carried on it. It was renamed in 1960 to its current name. A toll was charged on the bridge until a tollbooth accident in 1983, which was one of the toll accidents that resulted in statewide removal of tollbooths in the 1980s.

References

External links

* Bridges over the Connecticut River Windsor, Connecticut Bridges completed in 1958 Bridges in Hartford County, Connecticut Road bridges in Connecticut Interstate 91 Bridges on the Interstate Highway System Former toll bridges in Connecticut {{Connecticut-bridge-struct-stub

History and construction of the Bridge

See also

References

External links