North Street Bridge Project Could Mean A 12-Week Full Road Closure

GREENWICH, CT — The Greenwich Department of Public Works is requesting approval for a 12-week summer detour plan associated with the North Street Bridge replacement project.

DPW Commissioner Jim Michel and civil engineer Finton Sweeney appeared before the Board of Selectmen on Thursday with the request. Documents associated with the item note a full road closure and detour would be in place after June 9 with exact dates to be announced.

Work outside of the 12-week full road closure would utilize alternating one-way traffic during work hours with the help of police or flaggers.

No vote was taken Thursday as the board will wait two weeks to garner any public feedback on the plans.

The bridge, which is located over West Brothers Brook between Cotswood Road and Macpherson Drive, was originally built in 1909 and rebuilt in 1950. In March of 2022, the bridge was inspected, emergency repairs were made, and a 4-ton weight limit was added.

The bridge must now be replaced. Along with a new structure, new catch basins and manholes will be installed, and a portion of North Street will be repaved with new pavement markings in the area.

According to Sweeney, the 2.7-mile-long detour is proposed for both directions utilizing North Street, Fairfield Road, Old Church Road, East Putnam Avenue and North Maple Avenue.

Designed by WMC Consulting Engineers, the detour plan has already been approved by the CT Department of Transportation, Sweeney noted, and the proposal has taken into consideration large trucks and emergency vehicles.

"We understand people who are familiar with the area will be using other routes around the area," Sweeney said. "There are obviously shorter routes, but this accommodates all vehicles."

Sweeney added that the project was originally supposed to be a year-and-a-half long utilizing an alternating one-way route on North Street with a temporary signal.

"The public was not very in favor of that so we moved to this 12-week road closure during the summer months to shorten the project timeline as much as possible," Sweeney said, noting police and fire officials found the new plan to be most favorable.

Overall, construction on the bridge is expected to take 10 months to complete, with preparation this spring and final restoration in the fall of 2025, associated documents with the detour request state.

The majority of work will take place during normal construction hours, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We're looking to go out to bid as soon as possible for this as we are trying to do it this spring," Sweeney said. "This needs to be incorporated in our bid documents."

First Selectman Fred Camillo acknowledged that drivers who know the area will take other routes.

Michel said DPW is including "some temporary traffic calming measures" in the project contract that can be implemented as needed over the course of construction "in the event that we start seeing people not behaving well on some of the other side roads or in the detour route itself."

The traffic calming measures could include additional signage, message boards, flashing lights, and perhaps even temporary speed humps to help slow people down on nearby cut-through roads.

A vote on the detour plan is expected during the Board of Selectmen's next scheduled meeting on Jan. 23.

More information on the North Street Bridge replacement project can be found on the town website.