The Charter Oak Bridge is one of the three highway bridges over the Connecticut River

Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...

 in Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

. The twin steel stringer bridge carries the Route 15 (Wilbur Cross Highway

Wilbur Cross Highway

The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for the portion of old Route 15 from Wethersfield in Connecticut, through Hartford and Manchester, to the Massachusetts Turnpike in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The highway was built in the 1940s before the Interstate Highway era...

) and U.S. Route 5

U.S. Route 5 in Connecticut

U.S. Route 5 , a north–south U.S. Highway that is generally paralleled by Interstate 91, begins at the city of New Haven in Connecticut and heads north through western Massachusetts and eastern Vermont to the international border with Canada...

. The bridge has an average daily traffic of 79,800.^{http://www.ct.gov/dot/LIB/dot/Documents/dpolicy/traflog/traflog.pdf}

The original Charter Oak Bridge was constructed in 1940s as part of the Wilbur Cross Highway

Wilbur Cross Highway

The Wilbur Cross Highway is the designation for the portion of old Route 15 from Wethersfield in Connecticut, through Hartford and Manchester, to the Massachusetts Turnpike in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The highway was built in the 1940s before the Interstate Highway era...

 and allowed through traffic to pass south of downtown Hartford. It was a toll bridge. Due to its obsolescence it was replaced by the current bridge, which is free to motorists.

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