Driving on Interstate 95 passing through Waterford this week might be a major headache as construction on a bridge replacement could cause a major traffic.
Department of Transportation crews will replace the north and southbound bridges at the junction with Interstate 395, starting today.
The project is going to be done in four separate phases, where one of two lanes will be closed for a 34-hour period.
Crews will first start work on the northbound bridge in Waterford beginning today, followed by construction on the southbound bridge in the fall.
Northbound lane closures:
- Monday, Aug. 22 at 8 p.m. - Wednesday, Aug. 24 at 6 a.m.
- Monday, Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. - Wednesday, Aug. 31 at 6 a,.m.
Southbound lane closures:
- October, but dates have not been scheduled
DOT officials recommend commuters who drive this stretch of road find an alternate route.
Waterford and East Lyme Police officers will also help reroute traffic during construction.
"They’re going to be available to intervene in very short order. If there are any traffic back ups at traffic signals etc. they’ll be able to jump right in and supersede those signals just start directing traffic, waving it through keeping the traffic flowing," said DOT Spokesperson Kevin Nursic, who added that several state troopers will be on I-95 in case there are any incidents on the interstate.
Nursic said the bridges are being replaced because they are in poor condition.
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"They are structurally deficient they are at the end of their useful life so we need to maintain the infrastructure. This work has to be done if we want to keep these critical highways open and safe for everybody," said Nursic.
The project is an Accelarated Bridge Construction operation in which a bridge section is built in an off-site location, then moved to it's final location.
If the project was done onsite and there weren't any lane closures, Nursic estimates project completion could have taken up to two years.
