The Bridge Street on-ramp is shutting down indefinitely on Saturday as construction on the southbound side of the Gold Star Bridge in New London continues, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CT DOT) said.
In the face of gridlock headaches, the hope is that shutting down the on-ramp will improve traffic flow. Bridge Street traffic will be detoured to Long Hill Road (Route 12) and then onto the Interstate 95 southbound on-ramp.
North Street traffic will detour to Meridian Street, Brandegee Avenue (Route 349) and then to the I-95 south on-ramp.
"I think that’s a good idea because the people trying to merge on aren’t waiting for the other people to come on and they’re causing accidents," driver Trissy Poitras of Groton said.
State police confirmed there have been three accidents in the area of the southbound side of the bridge in the last two days. CT DOT spokesman Kevin Nursick said one of the crashes this morning was at the Bridge Street ramp and had something to do with merging onto the highway.
"Not everybody is willing to work together to make the traffic go as smoothly," driver Margaret Lemontagne of Mystic said.
