The ribbon cutting for the renovated Derby-Shelton Bridge was held on
November 12, 2024.
NVCOG rendering
New Derby-to-Shelton Lane opened on October 10, 2022
Down
through the years, there have been several bridges that spanned the
Housatonic River connecting Shelton (Huntington) and Derby from covered
bridges to iron bridges to the current concrete bridge which was built
in 1918.
One of the
earliest of the bridges for which pictures survive was the Huntington
Bridge erected after the previous bridge was washed away in 1851. It was
a wooden, covered bridge that was also a toll bridge - read the full
story
here.
After much
controversy, the new iron bridge was built in 1891 and included trolley
tracks for the emerging transportation system. The bridge lasted until
the current bridge was built in 1918.
The bridge was wider and stronger than many bridges of the time as World
War I had raised concerns about the needs for moving heavy military
equipment in times of need.
The bridge
has served the two towns very well, though its aesthetic appeal wasn't
the best including the period of time when special fencing was erected
to prevent anyone from jumping off the bridge.
The
Derby-Shelton Rotary Club made a grant to the Shelton Economic
Development Commission for a study which helped SEDC earn a $265,000
grant to study the look and functionality of the bridge which eventually
resulted in the current State Department of Transportation
project currently underway.
On October
10 the project took a major step forward when the renovated lane from
Derby to Shelton was opened and a couple of days later as the work
shifted to the middle of the bridge, an important piece of history was
unearthed when they started removing the paving - the original trolley
tracks from the days when the bridge was double tracked for trolleys.
