The Charter Oak Bridge is one of the three highway bridges over the Connecticut River in Hartford, Connecticut. The twin steel stringer bridge carries (Route 15/U.S. Route 5) over the river, connecting downtown Hartford with East Hartford. Named for Connecticut's famed Charter Oak, the original crossing opened as toll bridge in the early 1940s, allowing through traffic to pass south of downtown Hartford. It was replaced by the current bridge in 1991, which is free to motorists. The Charter Oak Bridge has an average daily traffic of 79,800.