Pat Tomlinson
NORWALK — East Norwalk residents got a glimpse Monday night of what to expect when work begins on three bridges in the neighborhood as a part of the Walk Bridge project.State Department of Transportation officials attended the East Norwalk Neighborhood Association meeting to provide residents with details regarding the expected duration of the projects, which could cause traffic and noise concerns in the area.
John Hanifin, project manager of the Walk Bridge Program, said replacing the three aging rail bridges — East Avenue, Osborne Avenue and Fort Point Street — were packaged with the Walk Bridge project to minimize the amount of time spent in Norwalk on rail improvements.
Hanifin estimates the work on these projects, along with improvements to Metro-North’s interlocking system, would take an additional two years if done separately.
The three projects, along with a fourth, unrelated project to replace the Strawberry Avenue rail bridge scheduled to begin this month and end in fall 2020, has some East Norwalkers concerned about potential traffic jams along four adjacent routes stretching from a main road heading into Westport to South Norwalk.
Hanifin tried to allay some of those concerns at the meeting.While the projects will be done at the same time, Hanifin said the DOT plans to close no more than one of the affected roads at once.
Hanifin also said closures would be limited to off-peak hours, between about 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
‘We’re not here to try and negatively affect you guys. We’re doing the best that we can,” Hanifin said.
Chris Mojica, program manager from consultant WSP USA, said the work will also be scheduled to avoid road closures that conflict with scheduled events that would temporarily increase traffic in the area.
“We’re not going to work during the Oyster Fest or the SoNo 5k. We’re trying to reach a happy medium here,” Mojica said.
Hanifin acknowledged, however, that road closures in South Norwalk could occur at the same time as similar closures in East Norwalk.
All three bridge projects are scheduled to begin about a year-and-a-half after the start of the Walk Bridge project, which is expected to start this fall. Each is expected to last about three years.
The East Norwalk bridge replacement, which is estimated to cost $26 million, will include a lowering of the roadway to comply with federal clearance regulations, an extension of the East Norwalk train station’s platforms and upgrades to its parking lot.
Unlike the other two bridges, the East Norwalk structure will need to be built in place. Since the intersection also sees the most traffic of the three, Hanifin said, it will also be subject to the most “restrictive” of the construction time frames.Estimated at $20 million, the Fort Point bridge replacement will include a realignment of Washington Street, which will connect to South Smith Street, instead of Fort Point Street.
Diane Cece, chairwoman of the ENNA, raised concerns that the road realignment — which was a new addition to the project design — could open the door for more “land grabs” by the state.“There should be no additional easements. At least, that’s the plan,” Hanifin replied.
The Osborne Avenue bridge is the least costly of the three projects at about $12 million, and it will include a superstructure replacement and rehabilitation to its substructure. There will also be a sidewalk added to the east side of the underpass.