The bridge is 92 feet (28 m) long, and rests on stone-faced reinforced concrete abutments.

Mill Brook passes fifteen to twenty feet below the bridge at normal water levels.

[2] The bridge is sited near an old mill dam and pond, and is not far (about 200 feet (61 m)) from the house of Henry W. Bissell, for whom it is named.

The town vehemently opposed the construction of a modern steel-and-concrete structure as its replacement, and the matter drew a great deal of media attention.

The only major deviations from the original design were made to accommodate modern roadway requirements.