[2] Called "an important engineering landmark" by Cultural Resource Management, a periodical published by the National Park Service, the bridge carries one of the primary streets in this section of town, and is owned by the Connecticut state government.

The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, successor to the New York and New Haven Railroad in 1872, replaced the river bridge in 1884 and, 11 years later, erected this span again in Riverside, adjacent to the Riverside train station.

By 1986, vibrations and isolated corrosion in the trusses caused traffic officials and local residents to start worrying about its safety.

)[2] The original design documents couldn't be found, so engineers from Frederic R. Harris, Inc., relied on ultrasonics to determine the strength of the bridge, and the tests revealed that rehabilitation work was necessary.

The design for the new work was later called an "innovative engineering solution" by Cultural Resource Management.