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Bridge in Hadley, Massachusetts

Calvin Coolidge Bridge

Coordinates	42°20′11″N 72°37′04″W / 42.33639°N 72.61778°W / 42.33639; -72.61778
Carries	Route 9
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Northampton, Massachusetts to Hadley, Massachusetts
Maintained by	Massachusetts Highway Department
Characteristics
Design	Warren deck truss
Total length	1,440.94 ft (439.2 m)
History
Construction start	1936
Opened	October 12, 1939
Statistics
Daily traffic	34,900
Location

The Calvin Coolidge Memorial Bridge is a major crossing of the Connecticut River in Western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley. The bridge carries Route 9 across the river, where it connects to Interstate 91.

History and construction of the bridge

The Calvin Coolidge Memorial Bridge is a five-span, single intersection Warren deck truss bridge with distinctive design on its granite-faced abutment pylons. Art Deco ornamentation on the pylons includes carved eagles and incised carved lettering. The bridge, a replacement of a previous structure destroyed in the 1936 flood, was funded under the Hayden Cartwright Act, one of the numerous federal aid programs designed to provide construction jobs during the Great Depression. It was designed by W & L Engineering Co. in conjunction with Maurice A. Reidy as consultant and Desmond & Lord as architects. The bridge was built by T. Stuart & Sons.

The bridge was named as a memorial to President Calvin Coolidge (1872–1933), a longtime resident and former mayor of Northampton. Coolidge was elected to the State Senate and the governorship of Massachusetts before being elected President of the United States. A bronze memorial plaque of Calvin Coolidge is mounted on the northeast and southwest pylons.

The bridge features large, distinctive granite-faced pylons in the Art Deco style, measuring 15 by 27 feet at the base. On the northwest and southeast pylons are bronze doors that provide access to small rooms.

The 3+1⁄2-foot-high (1.1 m) welded steel Art Deco bridge rail is mounted at the back of the sidewalk on the north side of the bridge and on the bridge parapet on the south side where there is no sidewalk. It is a weathered green color. Integral to the rail are light standard posts supporting cobra head luminaires. The cobra head luminaires replaced the original low-pressure sodium lamp fixtures developed by General Electric. These lamps were based on a European model and introduced to the U.S. market in 1933. However, the yellow/orange, monochromatic light produced by the luminaire ultimately became unpopular with the motoring public, and use of the lamps was discontinued as color-corrected light sources became available.

In 2001, the Massachusetts Highway Department began a major improvement of the Coolidge Bridge, that cost a total of $32 million which included:

Widening the bridge from 3 lanes to 4 lanes, i.e., 2 travel lanes in each direction
Replacement of the deteriorated bridge deck
Refurbishing the historic Art Deco bridge railing and integrated light fixtures
Cleaning and restoration of all granite facing
Installation of a new 5-foot sidewalk on the north side of the bridge
Repairing and improving the bridge approach roadways

In 2007 the Massachusetts Historical Commission determined that the Calvin Coolidge Bridge was not eligible for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places but was eligible for listing as a contributing element in the (then) pending expansion of the Hadley Center Historic District. In 1994, the bridge was included as a contributing element to the Hadley Center Historic District.

The bridge is a major bottleneck in Hampshire County, with the busy Route 9 as the sole thoroughfare between the college towns of Northampton and Amherst.

The road approaching the bridge is known as Bridge St. in Northampton (eastbound) and Russell St. in Hadley (westbound).

References

From the date range on the bridge's dedication plaque.
New York Times article
"Exit 19 reconstruction". Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2019.
"Previous bridge is on top. Lower bridge is the one currently designated [[Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge]]". Archived from the original on March 17, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2008.

External links

Coolidge Bridge | City of Northampton Public filing cabinet

Crossings of the Connecticut River

Upstream
Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge

Calvin Coolidge Bridge

Downstream
Joseph E. Muller Bridge

Connecticut River watershed

Tributaries

Connecticut	Blackledge River Coginchaug River Connecticut River Duck River Eightmile River Falls River Farmington River Hockanum River Hubbard River Jeremy River Lieutenant River Mattabesset River Nepaug River Pameacha Creek Park River Pequabuck River Salmon River Scantic River
Massachusetts	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
New Hampshire	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Blow-me-down Brook The Branch Cold River Connecticut River East Branch Mohawk River Gale River Great Brook Halls Stream Ham Branch Indian River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Knox River Little River Little Sugar River Mascoma River Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River Nash Stream North Branch Gale River North Branch Millers River North Branch Sugar River North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Oliverian Brook Otter Brook Partridge Brook Perry Stream Phillips Brook Simms Stream South Branch Ashuelot River South Branch Gale River South Branch Israel River South Branch Sugar River Stocker Brook Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River West Branch Mohawk River West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Wild Ammonoosuc River Zealand River
Vermont	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River

Lakes

Connecticut	Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Lake Hayward Lake Pocotopaug
Massachusetts	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Lake Monomonac Quabbin Reservoir Lake Wyola
New Hampshire	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir Pearly Lake Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton
Vermont	Ball Mountain Lake Comerford Reservoir Harriman Reservoir Harvey's Lake McIndoes Reservoir Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Lake Rescue Townshend Lake

Towns

Connecticut	Chester Cromwell Deep River East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Windsor Enfield Essex Glastonbury Haddam Hartford Higganum Lyme Middletown Moodus Old Lyme Old Saybrook Portland Rocky Hill South Windsor Suffield Thompsonville Wethersfield Windsor Windsor Locks
Massachusetts	Agawam Chicopee Deerfield Easthampton Gill Greenfield Hadley Hatfield Holyoke Longmeadow Millers Falls Montague Northampton Northfield South Hadley Springfield Sunderland Turners Falls West Springfield Whately
New Hampshire	Bath Charlestown Chesterfield Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Cornish Dalton Groveton Hanover Haverhill Hinsdale Lancaster Lebanon Littleton Lyme Monroe Northumberland Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Stewartstown Stratford Walpole West Lebanon Westmoreland Woodsville
Quebec	East Hereford
Vermont	Ascutney Barnet Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Concord Dummerston Fairlee Gilman Guildhall Hartford Hartland Lemington Lunenburg Maidstone Newbury Norwich Putney Rockingham Ryegate Springfield Thetford Vernon Waterford Weathersfield Wells River Westminster White River Junction Wilder Windsor

Crossings

Categories:

History and construction of the bridge

See also

References

External links