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11/07/2017 11:00 PMIf you travel Route One between Spencer Plain Road and the center of Old Saybrook, you’ve seen the piles of large white bags on both sides of Route One near Center Road, staged and ready for construction to complete replacement of the Route One bridge over Center Brook. Route One, at a point just east of Center Road, will now be closed from Friday, Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. until Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 5 a.m. to complete replacement of the bridge over Center Brook.
By staging components and supplies on site, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and contractor are trying to minimize the time that the strategic and busy roadway has to be closed to traffic while replacement work is completed. With all bridge and support components now staged, ready, and inspected, the project has been scheduled.
The final bridge installation work, originally scheduled for October, was postponed after DOT inspectors found that concrete components destined for the new bridge failed to meet Connecticut Department of Transportation specifications. So the components, cast off site, were rejected. Now the new components are ready—and found to meet DOT specifications. So installation can move forward.
“The Route One bridge project uses the Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) replacement technique. We can build the necessary bridge components off site, minimizing the short-term impact of a bridge replacement to traffic,” explained DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick.
During the five-day Route One/Boston Post Road closure, the final phase of the bridge replacement will begin. The closure will be at the brook, just east of Center Road. Vehicles will still be able to access Center Road and nearby Route One businesses during the Route One closure from the Spencer Plain Road side of Route One by taking I-95 and getting off at Exit 66, Route 166, Spencer Plain Road. To access businesses and residences on the eastern side of the closure, vehicles would take I-95 Exit 67, take Route 154 south, and then bear right to get onto Route One going west towards Westbrook.
During the bridge replacement closure, no through traffic will be allowed.
Nursick said that the bridge replacement project costs about $1 million. After the closure, the contractor still will have other tasks to complete the project. All work is scheduled to be done by Nov. 30.