Canton Hires Firm to Investigate Options in Replacing Historic Bridge

The 118-year-old bridge that takes Town Bridge Road across the Farmington River in Canton is in need of repair or replacement and now the town has hired an engineering firm to investigate its options.

The Board of Selectmen approved hiring Meriden’s Transystems Corp. to conduct a $261,608 engineering study at a June 26 meeting, according to a Hartford Courant article.

The project was approved by voters in 2010 with an estimated cost of $6.68 million.

The through-truss bridge, with just one lane,  is one of only a few of its kind in the state and is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Historic American Engineering Record.

Though the use of federal funds - $5.34 million is earmarked for the project – requires modern standards be met, the town hopes to maintain the bridge’s character, the article says. It is old and not rated for heavy trucks, officials said, but it is safe for car traffic. 

Transystems Corp. will investigate the options and report back to the town.