Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge

The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge (also known as the Northampton Lattice Truss Bridge) is a former crossing of Boston and Maine Railroad over the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts, connecting the towns of Northampton and Hadley, by the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which is currently used for bicycle and foot traffic.

Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge
Coordinates	42°20′14″N 72°37′07″W
Carries	Norwottuck Rail Trail
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Northampton, Massachusetts to Hadley, Massachusetts
Maintained by	MassDOT
Characteristics
Design	steel lattice truss bridge[1]
Total length	approximately 1,492 feet (454.76 m)
Longest span	approximately 200 feet (61 m)
History
Opened	1887, 1992
Location

History

The Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge is an eight-span steel lattice truss bridge. It crosses Elwell Island in the middle of the river, providing no access to the island in an attempt to keep the island otherwise untouched. Riding over the bridge shows eight spans, with two of them over Elwell Island. It was built by the R. F. Hawkins Ironworks Company.^[2]

The bridge was redesigned by Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. of Watertown, rebuilt by MassHighway, and opened in 1992 to bicycle and foot traffic as part of the Norwottuck Rail Trail.

See also

• List of bridges documented by the Historic American Engineering Record in Massachusetts
• List of crossings of the Connecticut River