The Connecticut Department of Transportation is announcing that the project to rehabilitate Bridges 03176, 03177, 03178, and 03179, carrying Route 8 over the Naugatuck River and Metro-North Railroad in Waterbury, will begin on Thursday, April 1, 2021.
The work consists of steel repairs, partial and full depth bridge deck repairs, deck end/elastomeric concrete header repairs, parapet repairs and safety modifications, replacement of expansion bearings, substructure concrete repairs, abrasive blast cleaning and painting of fixed bearings, pin and hanger assembly repairs/upgrades, installation of keeper blocks, placement of membrane waterproofing, and replacement of asphalt.
The contract allows for the construction of a temporary access road along Route 8 southbound in the vicinity of Bridge 03178 to grant unrestricted access from Route 8 southbound underneath Bridges 03178 and 03179.
The contract work will be performed and executed utilizing off-peak shoulder and lane closures in addition to staged-construction traffic control configurations along the project corridor, requiring both daytime and nighttime construction activities. The contract also allows for four 56-hour single-lane closure work periods as detailed below.
Lane Closure Info:
- Two lanes of traffic in each direction will be maintained during peak periods, from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with lane closures only allowable at night.
- The contractor will be allowed to halt Route 8 traffic for a period not to exceed ten minutes to perform necessary work for the removal of existing bridge superstructures, and for the delivery, installation and setting of structural steel, between 12:00 AM and 5:00 AM on all non-holiday days.
- The contractor will be allowed to close the shoulder while maintaining two lanes of traffic along Route 8 to complete all work associated with the parapet repairs and safety modifications.
- The contractor will be allowed to maintain one lane of traffic on Route 8 to complete all work associated with the expansion joint reconstruction over four 56-hour work periods. The contractor will be permitted to begin implementing the plan along Route 8 beginning no earlier than 9:00 p.m. on Friday and concluding at 5:00 a.m. on Monday at the latest. The work will occur over two consecutive weekends at each bridge. The 56-hour work period will be utilized for the partial reconstruction of the deck and backwall and construction of the expansion joints.
The project was awarded to Walsh Construction Company II at a cost of $14,996,340 on January 21, 2021, and is scheduled to be completed by November 30, 2021.