Lover's Leap Bridge work nearly done

From the Spectrum, Oct. 20, 2006
by Linda Wellman

The two-year Lover's Leap Bridge rehabilitation in New Milford is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

In a press release issued last week, New Milford Public Works Director Mike Zarba said the final cost is estimated to be $1.6 million.

The completed bridge work will provide a way for pedestrians to cross the river to access both sections of the Lover's Leap State Park.

The construction has been funded under the enhancement component of the Surface Transportation Program, with the Federal Highway Administration providing 80 percent of the cost and New Milford taxpayers 20 percent.

Mr. Zarba said the blasting off of the old paint has been completed, and the sub-contractor, Abhe & Svoboda, has been painting the entire steel structure with a similar historic red color.

The remaining work involved installing a fiberglass decking system, some masonry repair, grading, paving and other miscellaneous finish work.

The parking lot construction on the southwestern side of the bridge is being done by volunteers -- volunteers affiliated with Friends of Lover's Leap State Park -- and is unrelated to the bridge work.

The parking area will improve the accessibility to the bridge and to the 126-acre state park which straddles both sides of the Housatonic.

The Lover's Leap Bridge, an historic 1895 iron lenticular or elliptical truss bridge, spans the Housatonic River at the south end of Grove Street, beside the modern Charles H. Marsh Bridge completed in 1977 that carries vehicular traffic.

The Lover's Leap Bridge was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

The initial 40-acre state park was expanded when CL&P sold 86 acres surrounding the Lover's Leap gorge to the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in July 2002.

The park includes the foundation of the former Hurd mansion that vandals burned in the mid-1990s in the original park, and also the remains of the Bridgeport Wood Finishing Company complex.

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