Quinnipiac BridgePearl Harbor Memorial Bridge
spans	Quinnipiac River
lanes	2×5
Total length	1,443 meters
Main span	157 meters
Bridge deck height	18 meters
Opening	1958 / 2012 / 2015
Traffic intensity	128,000 mvt/day
Location	Map

The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, also known as the Quinnipiac Bridge or Q-Bridge is an extradosed bridge in the United States, located in the state of Connecticut. The bridge is part of Interstate 95 in Connecticut in New Haven. It was the first extra-dosed bridge in the country.

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Characteristics

The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge are two parallel extradosed bridges in New Haven. The bridge spans the Quinnipiac River. The bridge has a main span of 157 meters and side spans of 76 meters. The length of the main bridge is 309 meters, including bridges, the bridge is 1,443 meters long. The pylons are 23 meters high above the bridge deck, and the bridge deck is 18 meters above the river. The total height of the pylons is 46 meters. The bridge has 2×5 lanes off Interstate 95 in Connecticut.

West of the bridge is the interchange with Interstate 91 in Connecticut. South of the bridge is the Tomlinson Lift Bridge for local traffic. The Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge handles through traffic from New York and New Haven to Providence.

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History

First connections

It is unclear what the first bridge at this location is. The bridge of US 1 is probably the oldest, but the current span, a lifting bridge, dates from 2002. Before that, there was also a bridge for US 1, but when it was opened is not known. In 1958, the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge opened from the Connecticut Turnpike, later numbered I-95. This was a steel girder bridge of 25.6 meters wide. This originally had 2×2 lanes with emergency lanes, later the emergency lane became a third lane. This bridge was closed on July 26, 2013 and then demolished.

Replacement

As early as 1989, studies were conducted to replace the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge with a new and wider bridge. In 1992 the design EIS was made available for inspection, with a number of alternatives. One alternative provided 2×5 lanes, the other alternatives 2×4 lanes. However, all alternatives were rejected, after which the project went back to the drawing board and alternatives were again made available for inspection in 1997. In 2001 it was proposed to build a “signature span”, a landmark for New Haven. A cable- stayed bridge was initially considered, but this was not economical due to the relatively small main span, and the pylons would also be too high for the approach route to a nearby airport. After that is for an extra dosed bridgechosen. Work also started on the bridges in 2001. The bridge was originally supposed to be built between 2005 and 2012, but a tender procedure in 2006 resulted in no bids. The project was then put out to tender in sub-projects.

The bridge from 1958 was subsequently replaced by two new spans, each with 5 lanes and an emergency lane. On June 22, 2012, the first of these, an extradosed bridge, opened. This was the first extra-dosed bridge in the United States. The bridge was temporarily in use for traffic in both directions, but in the end situation was the bridge for traffic in the direction of Providence. A second extradosed bridge was constructed between 2013 and 2015 for traffic to New York. It was opened in September 2015, almost 15 years after work started on the bridge connection.

Cost

The project cost was estimated at $800 million in 1997, including $360 million for the bridge itself. Tolls were initially considered to recoup construction costs, but that option was later dropped. In 2007, the cost was estimated at $500 million for the bridge. The cost is funded 87% by the federal government, the rest by the state of Connecticut.

Traffic intensities

In 2012, 128,000 vehicles drove over the old bridge every day. After opening, 140,000 vehicles are expected.