"Q" Bridge, New Haven, CT

Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge AKA "Q" Bridge

About the picture: There are three bridges in that picture. The one in the background is the Tomlinson Lift Bridge. The one in the foreground is the OLD Quinnipiac Bridge (AKA Q Bridge). The one in the middle -- the one with all the cables -- is the NEW Q Bridge.

I hadn't photographed the new construction since last December, when it was just the concrete posts and some highway stretching away from it in both directions, with only some of the cables attached, and no clear idea how the bridge would shape up.

Construction ca Christmas, 2011

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article in the Courant about the plans for the Q Bridge, along with a rendering of how it would look when completed (read that article here). And then I overheard some people talking about the bridge construction at work!

I really had no choice; I had to return to New Haven and check it out for myself.

The section of I-95 that passes over the Quinnipiac River is one of the most congested sections of road in the state. Everyone traveling from northern or eastern New England to New York City goes through this bottleneck. Traffic is sometimes stalled for miles. The new Q bridge will greatly expand the road's capacity in both directions, as well as using an innovative bridge design not before seen in the US, the "extra-dosed" cable design.

Gulls

These seagulls were hanging around on Long Wharf, so I took their pictures. It's not ALWAYS about the bridges!

Closer look at the cable supports

Parking is easy, just follow the signs for Long Wharf and park in any of the small parking lots. If you go up Chapel Street, there's some parking at a sports field just north of the bridge. If the traffic is bad that day, you can park on I-95 itself in a traffic jam for an up-close look at the new construction.

Wind Turbine

If you choose to park at the sports field, you get this awesome wind turbine for free.

Here it is again!

That turbine looks even more awesome from the OTHER side, looming behind the bridges...

Tomlinson Lift Bridge, New Haven, CT

Tomlinson Lift Bridge

As I feared, the Connecticut River Eagle Cruise was canceled today due to the weather -- high winds were whipping the river to a froth. We're rescheduled for next Saturday and are hoping for better, or at least quieter, weather. Probably still be cold, though. January may have forgotten the season, but February remembers.

The Tomlinson Lift bridge, and its parallel partner, the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, cross the mouth of the Quinnipiac River as it empties into New Haven Harbor. The P.H.M. Bridge, AKA the Quinnipiac Bridge or simply the Q Bridge, is easily tall enough to let the tankers and container ships crawl a little further upriver, but the Tomlinson Bridge, which carries local traffic, needs a lift.

Taken from Long Wharf

I've seen a few lift bridges -- I saw a couple nice ones in Bridgeport last weekend -- but the Tomlinson is the nicest. Aluminum cladding gives the towers a classy feel, and the pale blue truss paint blend naturally with the harbor water and the sky.

It's a perfect complement to its setting and is a magnificent bridge for all its small size.

The Hardesty & Hanover civil engineering firm completely revamped the Tomlinson Lift Bridge about a decade ago; there's a complete report about the work (and some amazing aerial photos showing the bridge along with the "old" Q Bridge) on their website.

There's a floating platform where sightseers can look at the bridge or the ships in the harbor on the east side of the bridge. There's no decent place to park for it, though. The area immediately around the bridge is closed off while the Q Bridge is expanded. An oil pumping station (to the left in both pictures) closes off the west end of the bridge. Up the road a bit on the east side are some small businesses and residential areas, not fantastic places to park. I parked in a banquet hall parking lot about half a mile away.

It was worth it!

The second picture was taken from Long Wharf Park, which is another really great place to view the ships in the harbor, the lift bridge and the Q bridge. It's also a fantastic place for clam digging (but you probably need a license for that). The east point of the park has some utterly beautiful memorials to fallen soldiers. People on my social networks have seen this picture many times... and here it is again.

Veteran's Memorial in Long Wharf Park

Tanker delivering oil

Container ship unloading