Skiff Street Bridge Reopens In Hamden

HAMDEN, CT — After being closed for several weeks due to safety concerns, the Skiff Street Bridge over the Mill River in Hamden has reopened to through traffic. The bridge was temporarily closed on May 16 due to safety concerns brought to the town’s attention by engineers keeping close inspection of the project and related conditions for the town and state, according to officials. Local businesses on Skiff Street remain open and accessible.

Traffic has resumed the normal construction lanes along Skiff Street, which are in place as the replacement bridge is being constructed. New painted pavement markings were scheduled to be installed last night (June 12).

Read more from town officials in the press release below on why the decision was made to close the bridge and what has been done to make things safer:

Between May 11 and 15, an existing crack in the old bridge began to open. On May 15, the crack became wide enough that the design engineer on the project notified the Town that the bridge should be closed and the structure formally evaluated. The bridge was closed just after the evening rush hour on May 15.

Professionals recommended the closure to ensure everyone’s safety while evaluation and potential corrections could be completed, to prevent any further damage and to allow the old structure to remain in service until the new bridge is fully constructed. The bridge was evaluated and a repair was created and approved between May 18 and May 25. Construction of the new bridge continued during this process and remained on schedule.

The site contractor, ROTHA Construction, ordered the repair materials and completed the repairs. The cracked wall was bolted together and the crack was filled. The northernmost beam which settled with the cracked wall was jacked up back into place and additionally supported. The settling in the roadway was refilled and the pavement was repaved. The painted pavement markings are being repainted to properly direct traffic over the bridge.

The contractor’s engineer, as well as the Town’s construction supervising engineers, have reviewed the repairs, tested the material, and are certifying the bridge has been repaired in accordance with the approved plans. The bridge is safe for vehicular traffic.

"It was an inconvenience for many to have Skiff Street, one of our Town's main east-west travel roads closed for a period,” Mayor Curt Balzano Leng said. “The decision to close was not taken lightly, but was taken without hesitation when potential safety concerns were brought to my attention by our team.

"I very much appreciate the efforts of our Town Engineering Department and our private contractors for the evaluation and work they completed in a timely fashion to get the bridge re-opened safely in less than a month. I also would like to extend my appreciation to our residents and businesses for their patience as the Town worked to make the situation safe."

Work continues on the new bridge. Over the next two weeks United Illuminating and Frontier will be installing their utilities to the bridge. The bridge contractor will then install the bridge deck and additional utilities within the roadway approaching the new bridge. Traffic is anticipated to be diverted to the newly installed bridge in the fall when construction will begin on the south side of the new bridge. The entire project is anticipated to be completed in early 2020.

The local businesses and schools have been and continue to remain open. We encourage people to continue patronizing our local businesses and to give them some extra support if you can because they faced challenges while the Street was closed over the last month.