(STAMFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont is applauding the efficient and exhaustive work of construction crews, Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) staff, and state and local law enforcement who were involved in the bridge replacement project near Exit 9 on I-95 in Stamford that detoured all traffic off the highway over the last two weekends, saying their flawless efforts resulted in no significant traffic delays in what is normally one of the heaviest congested areas of the state.
The project, which was announced earlier this year, involved the complete demolition of the two bridge spans that carry Route 1 (East Main Street) over I-95, followed by sliding in of new, replacement spans using an innovative construction method known as accelerated bridge construction (ABC). The spans needed to be replaced because they had outlasted their lifecycles.
Under the plan, all traffic was to be detoured off the highway at Exit 9 beginning at 11:00 p.m. on the Fridays of both weekends and ending at 5:00 a.m. on both Mondays. However, because the crews worked so rapidly, the highway was able to re-open hours ahead of schedule on Sunday each weekend. There were minimal traffic backups, largely because drivers adhered to the warnings that they should avoid the area.
“We really must give applause to the DOT staff, construction crews, and state and local law enforcement who were involved in this complex and innovative project,” Governor Lamont said. “Over the last two weekends, we saw the complete demolition of two bridge spans and the sliding in of new ones in what felt like the blink of an eye – and this all happened on the heaviest traveled section of highway in our state, on a weekend in the summer. A project of this magnitude could have resulted in a nightmare on the highway, but everyone involved did an excellent job of communicating to drivers that they should avoid the area, and they were able to complete their work expeditiously. For that, I want to thank them.”
Governor Lamont noted that under conventional construction methods, a project of this magnitude would have taken two years to complete, causing daily traffic delays in the process. While the highway had to be shut down and detoured for two weekends, using ABC significantly expedited and compressed the replacement process – and also helped reduce costs.
“I must thank the men and women of the Connecticut DOT who worked so hard behind the scenes to put all the pieces in place for this major bridge replacement project to come together in such a precision fashion, and ahead of schedule,” DOT Commissioner Joe Giulietti said. “The construction crews and our law enforcement partners deserve equal recognition and high praise for being an integral part of the team that made this project such a success for everyone, but also most notably we must thank our customers – the traveling public.”
The project was led by O&G Industries, a business based out of Torrington.
Video and photographs of the complete construction process over the last two weekends can be downloaded at www.i95exit9.com.