By Kelly Marino
Today, the abandoned Arrawanna Bridge (formerly known as the Arawana Bridge, Bridge No. 4536, and the Berlin Street Bridge) in Middletown, Connecticut, is a historic landmark that crosses the Coginchaug River. Throughout much of the 20th century, however, the bridge played a key role in the city’s transportation network, carrying traffic from Berlin Street to Newfield Street. The ornate structure reflects the influence of the City Beautiful Movement at the turn of the 20th century.
Toward “Good Roads” and More Beautiful Cities
Prior to the current Arrawanna Bridge, an old truss bridge connected Berlin Street to Newfield Street. The realities of the Civil War made it clear that improvements in national infrastructure were needed by the late 1800s. During Reconstruction, small private companies that focused on construction projects, such as building bridges and roads, sprang up to meet the demands of state and national government. Progressive Era efforts—such as the Good Roads Movement and the League of American Wheelmen—furthered these developments by pushing for transportation improvements.
Industrialization and WWI pushed America toward greater modernity and connected cultures. As more Americans left home to work in urban areas or even travel abroad, and by the turn of the 20th century, innovations in technology and infrastructure were constantly weighed against environmental concerns.
The City Beautiful Movement influenced architecture and urban planning at the time of planning and construction of the current Arrawanna Bridge in the mid-1910s. While the impact is most notable in larger cities, the movement inspired many American politicians, builders, and architects to draw from European Neoclassical designs and monumentality. In addition, bridges began to include concrete embossing, arches, and other features as concrete became an increasingly popular building material.
The current Arrawanna Bridge is the earliest type of open-spandrel bridge in Connecticut (with there being only six open-spandrel bridges in the state) completed by the Connecticut Highway Department. It is also the only one of the state’s open-spandrel bridges to use a barrel-arch design. To save money, however, contractors used leftover pieces from the earlier bridge to help construct the new bridge, including building on brownstone abutments.
The Arrawanna Bridge Opens and Ages
Plans to replace the old one-lane truss bridge had been discussed since 1913 and finalized by the fall of 1917. The current Arrawanna Bridge was finished on July 3, 1918. Throughout the 20th century, the bridge successfully served a community transitioning to automobiles. Commissioned by the Connecticut Highway Department (forerunner to the CT Department of Transportation), the structure was 55 feet long, 19th feet high, and 20 feet wide, meeting the needs of the time.
Bridge constructors did not think about the challenges that the narrow bridge might pose for the future. As cars became wider and trucks became heavier, not only did the bridge need numerous repairs to deal with the larger vehicles, but accidents of various kinds accumulated. Mirrors were clipped off. Cars collided, and some went off the bridge. Walkers and pedestrians were hit. Curves near the entrance of the bridge on both sides were considered hazardous over time as new construction changed the surrounding landscape, and drivers had trouble seeing traffic from the other direction. In 1953, conditions on the bridge were such an issue that students from Middletown High School lobbied the city to make the bridge safer for pedestrians, and for years, the local government researched the potential of adding a designated walkway.
Middletown officials hoped that the area would again become part of the state highway system, which would deal with the issues. Prior to 1895 when the Connecticut Highway Commission was set up with funding and oversight responsibilities, road maintenance was up to cities and towns. For decades, responsibility for maintaining bridges went back and forth between the state and towns. By the 1960s, the state was back in control and Berlin Street/Route 72 (now Route 3) was considered a major state road. In 1974, the construction of a modern bridge to replace the Arrawanna Bridge about 100 feet to the west was completed. Berlin Street became a dead end and the old bridge closed.
Saving the Bridge
Some citizens hoped to preserve the structure as a pedestrian bridge. In the early 1970s, a new sidewalk construction program began in Middletown, and potential areas were surveyed to install walkways. Encouraged by a letter from resident John W. Paton, Middletown Mayor Anthony Sbona wrote to state transportation Commissioner Joseph B. Burns, asking to preserve the bridge, scheduled for demolition, because of historic and recreational value.
Although the state—and eventually the city, which currently owns the bridge—agreed not to tear down the structure, little formal effort was put into preserving it, leading to its decay. Today, the bridge is not only blocked off, but large potholes make it unsafe even for pedestrians. In 2004, the Arrawanna Bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The bridge is likely unsalvageable but remains as a visible landmark to drive by or photograph, reflecting the city’s history as an urban center in Connecticut during the Progressive Era.
Kelly Marino is an Associate Teaching Professor of History at Sacred Heart University.
