Thursday in Old Lyme, state and federal leaders gathered for a groundbreaking of Amtrak's new $1.3 billion Connecticut River Bridge replacement project.
“It needs to be painted it looks like, but all the joints, they’re rotting,” said Old Lyme’ Marshall Brooks.
After 116 years of service, Amtrak’s Connecticut River Bridge is finally up for replacement.
“It was a masterpiece in its time, but its time has passed,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
The roughly 1.3 billion dollar project, funded mostly through federal dollars, is scheduled to begin later this fall with a final estimated completion date around 2031. Preliminary staging for construction has already begun.
“The existing rail traffic will be maintained. There may be some single tracking that will be in place to help build things, but it won’t affect service,” said Amtrak Assistant Vice President for Major Bridge Program Jason Hoover.
The new structure will allow trains to travel up to 70 mph when traveling over the bridge compared to the current 45 mph.
Local
It’ll also provide an additional six feet of clearance for marine traffic traveling underneath when the new bridge is closed.
“You’ll see we work from each end of the bridge to prepare the site, and then get into the water to start construction,” said Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner.
Once underway, Amtrak said the current fishing and walking pier that goes underneath the bridge in Old Lyme will be taken down, but replaced by a brand new one once construction is complete.
“I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be able to access the boardwalk while the renovations are underway, but I think it’s important to invest in local infrastructure so if the bridge needs to be repaired then that’s a project I think is worth doing,” said Old Lyme’s Alyssa Storm.
Amtrak said throughout construction, marine traffic will still be able to navigate underneath the bridges with minimal delays, and that for the most part rail service will not be affected.
