William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge

Putnam Bridge
Putnam Bridge
	Western end of the William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge, before rehabilitation.
Coordinates	41°42′51″N 72°38′27″W / 41.71417°N 72.64083°W
Carries	Route 3 Expressway
Crosses	Connecticut River
Locale	Wethersfield and Glastonbury.
Official name	William H. Putnam Memorial Bridge
Characteristics
Design	Steel girder bridge
Clearance below	80 ft (24.3 m)
Statistics
Daily traffic	50,800
Location

The Putnam Bridge is a bridge in the state of Connecticut carrying the Route 3 Expressway over the Connecticut River, connecting Interstate 91 in Wethersfield and Route 2 in Glastonbury. It is the southernmost crossing of the Connecticut River in the Hartford Area and carries an average of 50,800 vehicles per day.^[1]

The bridge was built in the late 1950s as part of the Route 3 connector between Interstate 91 and Connecticut Route 2. It originally terminated at Main Street in Glastonbury, rather than at Route 2. It was expected to be expanded to a double-decker in the early 1970s as part of the planned Interstate 491, a southeastern bypass around Hartford from Wethersfield to East Hartford. However, the project was cancelled in 1973. In the late 1980s, the expressway portion of Route 3 was extended to terminate at Route 2.

In 2013, the bridge underwent a $15 million rehabilitation project, which repaved the roadbed, repainted the girders, added new lighting fixtures and a new pedestrian walkway.