Bridges to the future well under way
2004, the completion date for the I-95 Bridgeport Reconstruction Program, may seem like a long way off.

But the first major benefits of the Program will be coming far sooner. In fact, completion of the easternmost portion of the Reconstruction Program is now little more than a year away. After breaking ground in 1996, the reconstruction of the bridge that carries I-95 over Yellow Mill Channel and the modernization of Interchange 29, originally slated for completion in 2000, now are on track to be finished a year early.

Two more of the five projects broke ground last year. But the highway improvements they will yield won't be in use as quickly. Most of the Reconstruction Program's major payoffs (new bridges to carry the highway through the city, along with full left and right shoulders and operational lanes northbound and southbound) are benefits for the long haul. The shoulders and local-traffic lanes won't be ready to use until each project is completed.

And the two projects that started in 1997 involve the sections of the highway that are slated to take the longest to rebuild. One includes the interchange with Route 8/25 as well as a long bridge over Metro-North Railroad tracks and a number of city streets. It is slated for completion in 2003. The other is one of two separate projects which together will yield a new bridge over Bridgeport Harbor in 2004.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation and the Program's contractors have worked to minimize impacts on highway travelers. The ramps between I-95 northbound and Route 8/25 (I-95 Exit 27A) are under construction and have been subject to overnight closures. To accommodate the construction, the ramps' widths are reduced, requiring over-wide trucks to bypass the ramps at all times. Detours are posted.

Most highway traffic restrictions will continue to be limited to overnights into next year. Long-term closures of ramps between the highway and Myrtle Street currently are not slated to begin until the summer of 1999.

The modernization of Interchange 29, where Connecticut, Stratford and Seaview avenues meet I-95, is on schedule to be completed in November 1999, a year earlier than originally planned.

And Stratford Avenue is on schedule to be reopened as a continuous street connecting downtown Bridgeport with the city's East End even earlier, in July 1999. That's an additional four months earlier than previously scheduled.

These schedule improvements come as a result of cooperative efforts by the Connecticut Department of Transportation and O & G Industries, prime contractor for the first of the five major contracts that make up the I-95 Bridgeport Reconstruction Program.

When the final modernized interchange is fully open, it will feature a newly aligned Stratford Avenue that will pass under I-95 a short distance northwest of where it used to go under the highway. Under this new alignment, Stratford Avenue and Connecticut Avenue will cross Seaview Avenue at a signalized intersection, providing better traffic safety than the rotary that used to connect the three arteries.

The new Stratford Avenue also will feature new and improved sidewalks and lighting, further enhancing this new direct connection between downtown and the East End.

The new Stratford Avenue will provide two lanes into the East End. In July 1999, however, only one lane will be opened, with the second to follow as the interchange is completed a few months later.

The modernization of Interchange 29 has been ongoing since late 1996, when construction began on a temporary interchange with alternate routes needed to allow the new permanent interchange to be built. In order to reopen Stratford Avenue earlier than planned, additional alternate routes were needed between this spring and next summer. These alternate routes were advertised in area media, and detailed information on them is available by calling MetroPool at 1-800-346-3743, ext. 121, or by e-mail.

O & G Industries also is rebuilding the bridge that carries I-95 over the Yellow Mill Channel as part of this contract. That, too, is on schedule to be completed in November 1999, a year earlier than originally planned.

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Video, brochures, speakers available
MetroPool, Fairfield County's non-profit transportation management company, is working closely with the Connecticut Department of Transportation to make information about the I-95 Bridgeport Reconstruction Program available to the public.

• Video: This 11-minute video gives a general overview of the Reconstruction Program.
  
  
• Brochure: This booklet also gives a general overview of the Program, and includes a postage-paid reply card for people who would like to sign up to receive information about the Program.
  
  
• Newsletter: This is the first edition of a newsletter that will be published regularly until the Program is completed. Each edition will include the Program schedule, articles about important aspects of the Program and a "Meet the Crew" feature on a member of the Program staff. The newsletter also will include ways to get information about public transit and other Commute Alternatives in Greater Bridgeport.
  
  
• News releases: News releases are issued to publicize important changes due to the construction, especially changes that may affect the public. Because many of these changes are short-term, news releases are distributed by fax and posted on Metropool's webs site. In addition to the media and area companies and work sites, these releases are available by fax to the general public. To sign up to receive them, contact MetroPool.

• Speakers: Representatives of the Connecticut Department of Transportation are available to meet with community groups and other organizations to talk about the I-95 Bridgeport Reconstruction Program. Tours of construction sites can be arranged.

• On line: Information about the Reconstruction Program is posted on MetroPool's Web site, www.metropool.com. In addition, the Connecticut Department of Transportation is developing a Web site for the Reconstruction Program, and it will be linked to MetroPool's site. Watch for the address of the Department of Transportation's new site in a future newsletter. All these informational materials and services are available through MetroPool. Call (800) 346-3743, ext. 121 or send an e-mail.
  
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  For Inquiring Minds
  Answers to some of the questions most commonly asked about I-95 Bridgeport Reconstruction Program.
  
  Q: Why will the Reconstruction Program take so long to complete?
  A: Two reasons. First, nearly all of I-95 through Bridgeport, almost three miles, is elevated on 22 bridges and on structures between them. It takes far longer to rebuild bridges than a highway that's on the ground.
  
  Second, the Department of Transportation is committed to keeping I-95 open throughout the Program, and to restricting traffic to fewer than three lanes in each direction only during off-peak hours. If the highway could be shut down completely, it could be rebuilt in a couple of years. But that would force most highway traffic onto city streets. That would be bad for everyone - not only highway travelers but city residents and workers, whose quality of life would suffer.
  
  Q: Is the loop ramp to the Route 8/25 Connector being improved as part of the Reconstruction Program?
  A: Yes... and no. The bridges that support the ramp are being rebuilt, just as all the other bridges that carry I-95 through Bridgeport are. In fact, that's the reason for the Program: It's time to replace these bridges.
  
  But most people asking this question want to know whether the tight curve of the loop ramp will be changed. The answer is no. There's no space to build a loop with a more gradual curve, or any other alternative to the original loop.
  
  Commonly asked questions will be included in future editions of this newsletter. Contact MetroPool with your questions at (800) 346-3743, ext. 121.
  

  Meet The Crew
  Name: Mark D. Rolfe
  Employed By: Connecticut Department of Transportation
  Title: Supervising Engineer
  Responsibilities: Rolfe is the Program Manager for the Bridgeport Corridor construction projects. He supervises the Project Engineers and Resident Inspection staffs administering the individual construction projects in the corridor.
  Previous Experience: Rolfe has been employed by the Connecticut Department of Transportation since 1984, and has been working on I-95 projects since 1987.
  Among the major projects he has completed are the Michael L. Morano Bridge over the Mianus River in Greenwich and the Saugatuck River bridge in Westport

  Construction Time Line