Route 7 bridge 'safe,' but will be rebuilt next year

FALLS VILLAGE — The Route 7 bridge near Housatonic Valley Regional High School is one of 10 in the state that has been identified as having a similar construction as the one that collapsed earlier this month in Minnesota. But officials say the bridge is safe.

“The bridge was last inspected in March and will be reinspected and reviewed in accordance with a directive from [DOT] Commissioner [Ralph] Carpenter following the Minnesota disaster,� said Judd Everhart, a spokesman for the state Department of Transportation.

The heavily traveled deck-truss bridge has been identified for replacement since at least 2003, when the DOT held an informational meeting in neighboring Salisbury. Construction has been held up by the need for a watercourse permit from the Department of Environmental Protection. That permit was issued earlier this year, so after soliciting bids later this month, the DOT expects construction of the new bridge to begin sometime next year.

Constructed in 1931, about eight years before the high school was built, and rehabilitated in 1986, the bridge suffers from a structural deficiency and is supported by a central pier that is rusted by decades of contact with the rushing river.

The new span will run from bank to bank with no pier. It will be designed with trusses and constructed with I-beams. The nearby railroad bridge will not be a part of the construction, the DOT said.

In addition to reconstruction of the bridge itself, both the bridge and roadway profiles are being raised and the roadway approaches are being reconstructed. A portion of Lime Rock Station Road is also being relocated and reconstructed as part of the project.

The new bridge will be about 245 feet long, or slightly longer than the current span.

The bridge, which carries thousands of cars per week, will also be widened to 52 feet from 42. Instead of closing the span and that section of road completely, one lane across the river will be kept open almost continuously. A construction trestle will be built on the north side of the bridge.

Temporary traffic signals will be installed at each approach to the bridge, allowing traffic to pass in only one direction at a time. In addition, there will be approximately four to six weekend closures during the the project, at which time traffic will be detoured around the construction site. The DOT does not yet know to which roads vehicles will be sent.

The DOT expects construction to take two-and-a-half years. The cost of the project was originally estimated at about $7 million, but rising steel and energy costs, along with general inflation, will likely push the final tally to about $15 million, the DOT said.

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