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Earlier this year, 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 began last weekend on the $15 million project, on Friday, May 31, and is expected to continue this weekend from Friday, June 7 through Monday, June 10. During the construction work, motorists in the area can expect lengthy delays.
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 Friday, June 7, to 5 a.m. on Monday, June 10.
During the project, 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.
The DOT said that the project is using an Accelerated Bridge Construction process, which consists of 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.
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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