STONINGTON – Elissa Bass, a homeowner in Stonington, is raising the alarm over revised proposals by the Connecticut Department of Transportation to replace a major bridge into the borough.
Bass, whose property on North Main Street, which was built in 1835, backs on to the Alpha Avenue viaduct, which carries traffic into the borough and over Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor rail line.
She told CT Examiner that she wasn’t aware the proposed bridge replacement project would affect her property and her family’s life until they received a letter and map from the state’s Department of Transportation last week.
“They want to take a piece of our property on North Main Street that the viaduct runs over. And up until this letter that we received, we were under the impression that there would be no impact from this project on any neighboring properties.”
The bridge construction, which is in its early stages, proposes replacing a large portion of the bridge deemed structurally unsafe and increasing the clearance height for traffic and for trains to current height requirements.
The bridge was built in 1940 and state transportation officials say it hasn’t had major work performed on it since 1991-1993.
Bass said it’s not just her property that will be affected. A neighbor could see their property demolished if the project is approved, a thrift store could be displaced and ground owned by Dodson Boatyard temporarily taken over.
“They sent us a drawing that shows the piece of our property that they want. We are on less than a quarter of an acre, and they basically want the back third of our house. So, it would be for construction staging, and based on where we know the line is, it would put the back corner of our house six feet away from the construction site itself. Which to me renders our entire property unlivable. We would not be able to use our backyard. I can’t imagine we would be able to live in this house.”
Bass thinks state officials haven’t been transparent about their plan and proposals and said that the latest maps she’s received differ from the ones made available to the public.
“They’re two totally different plans. They have been saying throughout this whole process that the original footprint of the bridge would not change. That is no longer true. Their plan now involves a new bridge moved 12 feet closer to our side of our property. So, they’re moving the entire bridge, and they’ve changed everything in terms of what they need around the property.”
Bass said the Connecticut Department of Transportation hasn’t been honest about traffic flows if the project goes ahead and about the environmental impacts.
“My house dates back to 1840, if there’s pile driving, if there’s excavating six feet or 10 feet or 12 feet from my house, we will lose our house. Our foundation will crumble. We’re going to have to hire appraisers, structural engineers, possibly a lawyer. This whole thing came literally out of the blue.”
A timeline for the project shows it breaking ground in November 2027 with anticipated construction to take two years to complete.
The cost of the project is estimated currently at $48 million, with 80% of that figure being funded federally, the town of Stonington covering $1.2 million and the balance covered by the state.
Asked about the apparent discrepancy, Josh Morgan, a spokesperson for the department, said the changes were in response to a request by local officials.
“The initial design for this bridge replacement project included utilizing one-way alternating traffic during construction. We proposed this to minimize impacts to neighboring property owners. In discussions with local officials, they made clear their desire to see two travel lanes remain open throughout construction. As design of the bridge maintaining two lanes of traffic during construction progressed, as requested by local officials, a larger footprint for the new bridge structure and additional impact to abutting properties was recognized. If we kept the one-way alternating traffic as initially proposed by CTDOT, the property impacts would be reduced.”
Morgan said his department met with local officials on July 21 to update plans and received feedback on the proposed design.
He said the project is still in the preliminary design phase with final design for the project expected in Spring 2027, saying the timeline allows for plenty of public comment and input.
A Public Informational Meeting about the project will take place on Thursday July 31 at Stonington High School starting at 6.30 p.m. and will involve a presentation by the Department of Transportation and a Q&A for residents to ask questions.