STAMFORD -- Get ready to pack your patience if you must travel through Stamford on I-95 during either of the next two weekends.
From 11 PM on both Fridays until 5 AM on the following Mondays, the replacement of the bridge that spans I-95, at exit 9, is going to be demolished and replaced.
And the new bridge has already been built, in two sections, right next to the existing 61 year old bridge.
The two new bridge spans, weighing nearly 2 million pounds each, will be wheeled into place on hydraulic dollies.
“We are going to pick it up, demolish the bridge, move the girders, clean everything up, prep the area and then we’ll amend and drop it in right into place,” said Louis Eveno, a Project Manager for Connecticut Department PD Transportation.
Half of the bridge will be demolished and replaced over each weekend.
To alleviate some of the traffic troubles, the DOT has constructed temporary bypasses around the construction site, a scene to be closely monitored by State Police.
“We are ready for it,” said Sgt. Robert Derry of the Connecticut State Police
Extra troopers will be stationed around the clock, both weekends, at exit 9, along I-95 and on the Merritt Parkway.
“We will have wreckers on standby to remove vehicles very, very quickly,” said Derry. “The Department of Transportation has provided their service patrol vehicles.”
Stamford businesses near this mess have warned their customers.
“Some of them said that they’re going to order as much food as they can so that they can avoid the area and others just you know said they’ll deal with it,” said Jennifer Silverman, of the Stamford Restaurant & Pizzeria.
As for those, who live close to the chaos?
“We have a couple of neighbors nearby,” said Valeria Castro of
Stamford. “So, we are just going to be hopping house to house. As long as it’s walkable distance, that’s what we are doing.”
“Unfortunately, I have to go to Long Island tomorrow,,regardless,” said Kristina Egitto
of Stamford. “So, hopefully, I will be leaving early enough.”
And if you’d like to peek at the bridge construction, in progress, you can do so live at i95exit9.com.
“Plan accordingly,” said Sgt. Derry. “It’s going to be two weekends of inconvenience and, after that, we can enjoy our summer.”
For additional information and updates on the project, visit www.i95exit9.com. Video of the project will be streamed live online on that website as it happens.
