Part of Interstate 84 in Southington closed Friday night and will remain closed until Monday morning during weekend bridge construction.
About 85,000 vehicles typically cross the bridges on weekdays, but State Police want to get the word out so drivers are prepared to use alternate routes during the weekend closure.
I-84 will be closed in both directions at exit 30 as the state Department of Transportation (DOT) replaces two bridges that carry I-84 over Marion Avenue. The accelerated bridge installation is the first of its kind in Connecticut. You can watch the bridge replacements live on the DOT's website.
"In some ways, you have to say that's pretty impressive that the impact is only for two days," Chelsea Michaud, of Southington, said. "It would have been eight months of misery."
Police advise using I-91, I-691, Route 9 and Route 72 instead. Local detours will be set up to direct drivers.
"It'll be a bit of a hassle for one weekend, but it's one weekend," Debbie Breton, of Tucson, Arizona, said.
The Southington rest area before exit 30 on I-84 closed at 9 a.m. on Friday and will reopen at 5 a.m. on Monday, June 30. There could be bottlenecking in the area later in the day.
Local
Marion Avenue will be closed to through traffic as the work is done and the exit 30 on- and off-ramps will be closed for around three hours to set up traffic control.
The exit 30 ramps will reopen at 9 p.m. Friday to redirect traffic around I-84 in that area, which will be completely shut down for the remainder of the weekend as construction gets underway.
The closure schedule is as follows:
Friday
- 9 a.m.: Southington rest area along I-84 east closes
- 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: I-84 exit 30 ramps close. Marion Avenue closes at ramps and to through traffic. Atwater Street closes from Canal Street to Marion Avenue
- 6 p.m. One lane taken on I-84 east at exit 27 (I-691)
- 7 p.m. One lane taken on I-84 west at exit 31 (Route 229)
- 8 p.m. Two lanes taken on I-84 east at exit 27 and I-84 west at exit 31 with one travel lane open.
- 9 p.m.: I-84 and exit 29 ramps at Route 10 closes. Reopening of exit 30 ramps to accommodate one lane of I-84 traffic.
Monday
- 5 a.m.: I-84 open in both directions. Rest area reopens.
