ICYMI: Public Info Meeting Monday on Replacement of Old Kings Hwy Bridge Over I-95

Editor’s note: This post from state Sen. Bob Duff’s Facebook page was first published March 4 on Darien Patch. We’re republishing it here in case you missed it:

Shared by Bob Duff via Facebook

Public Information Meeting, Old Kings Highway North No. 1 over I-95, Darien.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation (Department) will conduct a Public Information Meeting concerning the rehabilitation of Bridge No. 00047, which carries Old Kings Highway North No. 1 over I-95 in the town of Darien.

The meeting will be held on Monday, March 16, 2015 at 7:00 p.m., in the Darien Town Hall, Room 206, 2 Renshaw Road, Darien, Connecticut. In the event of inclement weather, the meeting will be held on Thursday, March 19, 2015.

Bridge No. 00047 was built in 1952 and rehabilitated in 1994. It is a two-span continuous steel beam bridge. The bridge carries two lanes of bi-directional traffic on Old Kings Highway North No. 1 over six lanes of I-95 traffic, three I-95 northbound and three I-95 southbound lanes.

The project is in the Preliminary Design Phase. The plan is for a full superstructure replacement with two simply supported Prefabricated Bridge Unit (PBU) spans comprised of weathering steel beams. The vertical clearance on I-95 will be improved to 16 ft. – 3 in. to meet current design criteria.

As a result of this work portions of Old Kings Highway North No. 1 will be rebuilt. The existing variable message sign mounted to the bridge will be relocated to a standalone cantilevered structure off of the right shoulder on I-95 southbound.

Maintenance and protection of traffic on Old Kings Highway North No. 1 shall be accomplished by using stage construction in order to maintain pedestrian and eastbound vehicular traffic across the bridge. Westbound traffic will be detoured throughout construction and is anticipated to be completed in three stages.

Demolition of the existing superstructure will be completed using temporary nighttime lane closures on I-95. Twenty minute full closures on each bound of Interstate will be required during erection of the PBU’s.

Construction is anticipated to commence in spring 2017. The estimated construction cost for Bridge No. 00047 is $4,018,000 and funding will be a combination of State and federal funds.

The Public Information Meeting is being held to present the project and to solicit any comments and concerns the community may have prior to moving into the Final Design stage.

Plans will be available for public review. Department personnel will be available during the meeting to discuss this project. More detailed information is available at the Department’s Office of Engineering, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, Connecticut, during office hours, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding holidays. Anyone wishing to review the plans may contact Mr. Andrew J. Cardinali, Transportation Supervising Engineer at (860) 594-3315.

All persons interested in this project are welcome to attend this meeting and discuss the project with Department personnel.

INCLEMEMT WEATHER DATE: Thursday, March 19, 2015

Location: Darien Town Hall, Room 206, 2 Renshaw Road, Darien, Connecticut 06820 7:00 PM