Expect Delays: I-95 Shutdowns Scheduled During $15M Overhaul

Motorists have been advised to avoid a stretch of I-95 as contractors prepare to kick off work on an overpass that is getting a multi-million dollar overhaul in the area, likely leading to lengthy delays for drivers passing through the area.

There will be lengthy delays for two weekends as the Connecticut State Department of Transportation replaces the Route 1 bridge on I-95 in Stamford.
Photo Credit: *Connecticut DOT*

Zak Failla

05/22/2019 1:22 p.m.

The Connecticut State Department of Transportation announced plans to replace the Route 1 overpass at Exit 9 in Stamford with a new steel and concrete structure over the summer. Construction is scheduled for the weekends of Friday, May 31 and Friday, June 7 and is expected to cost approximately $15 million.

The DOT said that the project will be using an Accelerated Bridge Construction process, which entails building the new bridge spans next to the current bridge before moving them into place in an effort to limit traffic implications during the project. A similar tactic was taken to replace bridges in Bridgeport three years ago.

Six hundred and twenty-eight cubic yards of concrete weighing over 1.5 million pounds was used to build the two bridge spans. About 32 miles of rebar was installed within the newly constructed bridge spans, and new structural steel was used to create the new bridge superstructures. Each individual span to be lifted and set into place weighs between approximately 1.6 million pounds, and 1.8 million pounds.

Traffic on I-95 will shift at Exit 9 to temporary roadways located at the on and off ramps to allow for the removal and replacement of the Route 1 bridge, the DOT said. Travel will be reduced to two lanes in both directions with a speed limit of 20 mph from 9 p.m. on Fridays to 5 a.m. on Monday morning during the weekends of construction.

On those same weekends, the Route 1 bridge will be closed between Courtland Avenue and Seaside Avenue, and exit 9 will be closed to traffic exiting and entering I-95.

According to the DOT, Accelerated Bridge Construction “is an innovative building technique that reduces the amount of time required to replace a bridge.” For this project, bridge components are being constructed on a site adjacent to the bridge, and will be fit into place over the two weekends.

“This off-site work will allow for drastically quicker project completion, while also reducing impacts on the public. If this bridge were replaced using traditional construction methods, it would take two years during which time Route 1/East Main Street’s 17,000 daily travelers would have to cope with one-lane travel.”

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