Bridge Project Will Close I-84 in Southington Temporarily in June

The Department of Transportation plans to close I-84 at Exit 30 in Southington for a full weekend at the end of June due to a scheduled bridge replacement project.

Officials say that normally takes weeks to complete, but this project should take a matter of days, the first of its kind in Connecticut.

Two bridges that crossover Marion Avenue will be fully removed and replaced in a matter of days by two pre-fabricated bridges - which are already being built alongside the old ones.

Road closures, expected to detour some 80,000 cars and trucks a day onto local streets, are scheduled to begin late Friday afternoon June 27 and the highway is expected to reopen by Monday morning.

Local business owners have mixed emotions about the state-of-the-art bridges, the full impact of which is unclear.

Mark Zommer, owner of the nearby Zingarella Dafe, says he will over-staff that weekend, hoping for additional foot traffic.

"Perhaps much busier, or perhaps not. I'm not really sure how the traffic is going to flow," Zommer said.

But qcross the street, Dean Michanczyk, who sells wood stoves and spas, is just grateful the bridge project is being done during his slow season.

"I would kind of like to go there myself and look at it. I mean it's going to be very interesting when it happens," he said. "Had this happened in October, November I'd be very upset."

Connecticut Department of Transportation officials say the old bridges will be removed or demolished and then the new bridges will be "surgically" put in place.

While the project is intriguing and could draw crowds, DOT encourages people to avoid the area if possible.

The closures are expected to begin late friday afternoon june 27th and the highway is expected to reopen by monday morning.

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