Construction crews will begin working around the clock Friday night and through the weekend to put up part of a replacement bridge on Interstate 95 in Fairfield County.
The Connecticut Department of Transportation is replacing the northbound side of the bridge over Saugatuck Avenue in Westport — and they plan on doing it in just one weekend.
Crews will then work on the southbound side of the bridge on another weekend — the first weekend of November.
This weekend, northbound lanes will be closed and traffic will be diverted to the southbound lanes. Connecticut DOT suggests finding alternative routes and to avoid I-95 due to expected congestion.
All non-emergency work by the Connecticut DOT will be halted to focus on the bridge project.
This project will use a “lateral slide” technique. It allows for the new bridge to be built laterally next to the old bridge. Once the old bridge is removed, workers can slide the new bridge into place.
It takes nearly a full hour to move the bridge just three feet, so the DOT is capitalizing on every minute.
Josh Morgan, a DOT spokesperson, said the method is highly effective.
“What we find is that it’s a beneficial way to complete these projects that have a shorter disruption period to the public,” Morgan said.
The alternative to the lateral slide would be a full bridge repair, which would cause traffic disruption for months. According to Morgan, this method creates a much shorter disruption.
“Instead of 12 months of congestion and lane closures, we are packing it into two weekends,” Morgan said.
Learn more
The project can be viewed online in a variety of ways.
Commuters can check to see if the project was completed by the estimated time of 6 a.m. Monday by visiting this interactive traffic map.
Those who want to watch the process unfold over the course of a timelapse video can visit this website.
