Moses Wheeler Bridge

Moses Wheeler Bridge
Coordinates41°12′17″N 73°06′34″W / 41.20472°N 73.10944°W / 41.20472; -73.10944
Carries6 lanes of I-95
CrossesHousatonic River
LocaleStratford, Connecticut/Milford, Connecticut
Official nameMoses Wheeler Bridge
Maintained byConnecticut Department of Transportation[1]
Characteristics
DesignContinuous steel plate girder and floorbeam
Total length967 meters (3,196 feet)
No. of spans14
History
Opened1958 (Reconstructed 2011-2016)
Location
Map

Moses Wheeler Bridge carries Interstate 95 (Connecticut Turnpike) over the Housatonic River between Stratford and the Devon section of Milford. The current bridge is a 14-span continuous girder and floorbeam structure that carries three (expandable to four) lanes of traffic in each direction, with full inside and outside shoulders. The current bridge, completed in 2016, replaces a pre-existing structure that was completed as part of the original Connecticut Turnpike in 1958. The original bridge was a 34-span plate girder structure with a concrete deck with three 12-foot travel lanes in each direction and no shoulders. The central span of the original bridge over the river's navigation channel included a pin and hanger assembly, which are no longer used in bridge construction in the United States. Construction on the Moses Wheeler Bridge began in 1955 and opened on January 2, 1958.

The original Moses Wheeler Bridge, as seen from Washington Bridge, in 2010. Cranes can be seen assembling piers and abutments for the new bridge