DTC

The Town of New Milford selected DTC to develop an initial study report and subsequent final design for this noted bridge as a key element in the first segment of a 6-mile community walking trail. The bridge is important in that it is on the Register of Historic Places, it offers superior views of the Housatonic River which it spans and provides access to the Lover’s Leap State Park and areas beyond. Built in 1895 by the Berlin Bridge Company, Lover’s Leap Bridge is comprised of a lenticular (parabolic) truss span at approximately 54 feet above the Housatonic River and 172 feet long.

Also part of the project are the trail and bikeway approaches which require strategic planning to set the scene for the remaining walkway section, recommendation of materials and railings, and development of designs for parking, safety bollards and color differentiation to identify the trail terminus. The bridge decking involved two solutions, the first of which requiring a reduction of the deck width if conventional heavier materials were used, and the second, maintenance of the deck from truss to truss with the use of an innovative fiberglass deck. 

DTC provided the necessary material research and was instrumental in receiving approval from the Connecticut Historical Society. DTC provided landscape architecture, survey, permitting, bridge engineering services and construction inspection.