“Look, 118 years of this Devon Bridge. That’s a long time–a little overdue,” Governor Ned Lamont said while pointing to the bridge on Monday.
The rusted trusses of the Devon Bridge, which spans the Housatonic River, exposes the century-long history of a railroad bridge in need of attention.
“This Devon Bridge is emblematic of a lot of the infrastructure requirements that have come our way and kind of an example of the importance of maintaining our transportation system,” Rep. Frank Smith (D-Milford) said.
The Devon Bridge is one of nine projects along Connecticut’s portion of the Northeast Corridor that will receive a federally funded revamp through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
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“I think it’s something that’s probably been underfunded in the past and the northeast corridor is already so populated that having an improved train system really does help things move us along and move a lot of people,” frequent train rider Joseph Alagia said.
The projects include four bridge replacements: the Devon Bridge, the WALK Bridge in Norwalk, the Saugatuck River Bridge in Westport and the Connecticut River Bridge that connects Old Saybrook to Old Lyme.
“When we replace it, it’ll be higher, we’ll have to open it less for boats, and it’ll be faster. We’re going up from 45 to 75 mph across the [Connecticut River] Bridge,” Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner said.
In addition, the money will also go towards doubling tracks in sections along the Hartford Line, and general track improvement along the New Haven Line to help eliminate bottlenecks and delays.
Beyond those nine renovation projects, roughly $4 million will also be allocated to conducting a study for future infrastructure, speed and capacity options between New Haven and Providence, Rhode Island.
“Ultimately, it really is putting federal tax-payer money into work and creating a better infrastructure that will sustain us,” Sen. Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield) said.
The CT Department of Transportation said the different projects will begin at various points over the next few years. In the short term, the DOT said customers should expect delays due to the construction, but view the projects as a long term investment in Connecticut’s railroad.
“These long overdue federal investments will eliminate bottlenecks on the northeast Corridor for Amtrak riders and Metro-North riders,” Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose said.
