Middlesex COUNTY · Bridges & transportation
Westbrook’s Singing Bridge
Steel, road traffic and the sound that made a bridge a local landmark.
Historical focus · 1925–1999
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The story in photographs
1997
View looking north across marina - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT
View looking north across marina - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Brewster / Historic American Buildings Survey–Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted.
Original source · Reuse terms1997
View looking southeast; original Boston Post Road stone bridge abutment at center - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1,…
View looking southeast; original Boston Post Road stone bridge abutment at center - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Brewster / Historic American Buildings Survey–Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted.
Original source · Reuse terms1997
View of bridge looking east - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT
View of bridge looking east - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Brewster / Historic American Buildings Survey–Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted.
Original source · Reuse terms1997
View of south elevation of truss looking upstream - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook,…
View of south elevation of truss looking upstream - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT
Image credit & source
Robert Brewster / Historic American Buildings Survey–Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress
No known restrictions on images made by the U.S. Government; images copied from other sources may be restricted.
Original source · Reuse termsTHE STORY BEHIND THE PHOTOGRAPHS
People, places, and change.
A state highway project, 1924–1925
The state awarded a construction contract in 1924 for a new bridge over the Patchogue River. It opened in 1925 as part of improvements to the coastal highway. The federal survey identifies it as a Pratt steel-truss bridge designed in an era of increasing motor-vehicle weights. [2] [1]
Why the bridge sang
By the 1930s, local usage called it the Singing Bridge. Tires passing over its steel-grid roadway produced different tones with different vehicles and speeds. The sound made an engineering feature part of Westbrook’s everyday identity. HAER photographs from 1997 record the deck, truss and river approaches in close detail. [2] [1]
Debating its future, 1993–1999
When replacement proposals emerged in the 1990s, residents petitioned to preserve the bridge and its sound. The historical society records public meetings and a 450-signature petition. In 1999 the state announced a replacement approach and recorded the old bridge’s sound for the historical inventory, preserving evidence of a familiar local experience. [2]
Sources & further reading (2)
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Building dates and photograph dates are recorded separately. Later photographs are identified in their captions; unknown exposure dates remain unknown. Follow each image’s credit and reuse terms.