Bridge hit by trucks on I-95 in Connecticut to be raised by more than 2 feet

June 22, 2018

Tyson Fisher

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A bridge over Interstate 95 in Connecticut known for getting struck by trucks will be raised by more than two feet, according to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

Beginning next year, the 14-foot-1 inch bridge at Strawberry Hill Avenue over I-95 in Norwalk, Conn., will be raised to 16 feet, 3 inches, according to Brett Stark, project manager for the bridge rehab with BL Companies.

Stark said the bridge is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete and that the bridge has a substandard vertical clearance. The low clearance at the bridge has resulted in incidents in the past.

In December 2014, a truck damaged steel girders, requiring the relocation of a water main. That water main is now located on top of the bridge along a sidewalk.

Stark said raising the bridge to a clearance of more than 16 feet will bring the bridge into compliance with current standards. Consequently, this will allow for the water main to return to underneath the bridge and reopen the sidewalk to pedestrian traffic.

The project plans to keep the bridge in its current configuration. However, local roads will need to be modified to meet the bridge’s new elevation. Modifications will be made several hundred feet north and south along Strawberry Hill Avenue.

During construction, one travel lane in each direction will be open along Strawberry Hill Avenue during peak hours, Stark said. Along both directions of I-95, lane shifts and periodic lane reductions will occur during allowable periods.

Slated for spring 2019, the project will cost approximately $10 million. A public information meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 28, in the Norwalk City Hall.