Gov. Ned Lamont recently announced the Connecticut DOT's completion of an accelerated bridge replacement of two spans carrying Route 1 over I-95 in Stamford.
Work involved the demolition of two bridge spans over the interstate followed by the sliding in of new replacement spans using accelerated bridge construction (ABC) methods. All work occurred over the first two weekends in June.
Under the ABC plan, all traffic was to be detoured off the highway at Exit 9 beginning at 11 p.m. on the Fridays of both weekends, while ending at 5 a.m. on both Mondays.
According to the governor's office, due to the crews working at a rapid pace, the highway was able to reopen to traffic hours ahead of schedule on Sunday for each weekend. The weekend closures experienced minimal traffic backups in the area.
“We really must give applause to the DOT staff, construction crews, and state and local law enforcement who were involved in this complex and innovative project,” Gov. Lamont stated in a news release. “Over the last two weekends, we saw the complete demolition of two bridge spans and the sliding in of new ones in what felt like the blink of an eye—and this all happened on the heaviest traveled section of highway in our state, on a weekend in the summer."
The governor noted that under typical construction methods, a project of this size could have taken around two years two complete along the roadway, causing significant traffic delays each day. The ABC method substantially limited the need for roadway closures and expedited the bridge replacement process while reducing costs for the state.
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SOURCE: Office of Gov. Ned Lamont
