(The following story by Amy Renczkowski appeared on The Day website on June 16, 2009.)
EAST LYME, Conn. — Even though Amtrak objected to the Niantic River Bridge being placed on the National Register of Historic Places, officials might still have to follow some of the protocols as if it were.
In 2001, the National Park Service determined that the railroad bridge, built in 1907, was eligible to be listed on the National Register. But it never made it onto the final list, according to Stacey Vairo, the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism’s State and National Register coordinator, because of “owner objection.”
Amtrak owns the bridge and for almost 10 years has been planning its replacement. But the project, which is poised to begin, must be approved by the state Department of Environmental Protection and is also subject to review by the Culture and Tourism Commission. The DEP is reviewing a revised application submitted by Amtrak a couple of weeks ago.
In 2001, the commission’s Historic Preservation and Museum Division recommended that Amtrak preserve any electrical, mechanical or historical components of the existing bridge and document the structure for state and local archives. The division is empowered by federal and state law to function as Connecticut’s Historic Preservation Office.
Once the plans are approved by the DEP, the culture and tourism commission will review the project and finalize its recommendations on what Amtrak must try to preserve from the 102-year-old, chain-driven, through-girder Scherzer rolling-lift bascule bridge, according to Micheal Grzywinski, a senior DEP environmental analyst.
Grzywinski said Amtrak and the DEP are aware of the bridge’s historic significance, but he doesn’t see any problems with the groups addressing the commission’s concerns. He said he isn’t sure it will be feasible to remove the historic chain-driven mechanism from the bridge, but it could instead be preserved through photos and renderings.
The bridge was designed by the Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge Co. of Chicago for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Co. and is the only chain-driven version out of seven Scherzer bridges in the Northeast, according to the Connecticut Historical Commission.
An Amtrak representative contacted by telephone Thursday was not able before Monday evening to provide any information on why the railroad objected to National Register status or the feasibility of salvaging parts of the bridge.
Waterford Town Clerk Robert Nye suggested the chain-driven mechanism be preserved as a sculpture.
First Selectman Paul Formica said he had no problem with preserving the historical aspects of the bridge but said that, for safety reasons, the span needs to be replaced.
The $105 million project, funded with federal stimulus money, will replace the existing bridge and realign the tracks leading up to it. Amtrak will also replace the portion of the Niantic River Boardwalk that it dismantles during construction.