Grand Avenue Bridge Closing Plans Revealed

Starting in the spring, drivers accustomed to driving west across the Grand Avenue Bridge will instead follow a new route to Fair Haven: a left south down Quinnipiac Avenue, then a right onto Ferry, across the Ferry Street Bridge, then up Ferry back to Grand.

That’s because the bridge will close, probably starting in late April or early May, for an 18-month rehab.

City Engineer Giovanni Zinn revealed the detour route and details at a community update about the project, held Wednesday night at Benjamin Jepson Magnet School.

On March 1, the city will give the Plantsville-based contractor Mohawk Northeast Inc., a formal notice to proceed on the project. Repair work will start but the bridge will not be closed off during the project’s start. The projected cost is $23.2 million; the expectation is that the renovation will have a service life of 30 years (Read more about the lead-up to the project here.)

Temporary superstructure supports will be put in place during the construction. Piles will be driven from barge within the fender system. Supporting beams and jacks will be installed on the center pier to lift the bridge vertically in early April. The bridge will close off immediately after the pile activities.

There is no exact date set when the bridge will close, Zinn said. The city will provide neighbors with biweekly updates as the project proceeds.

During the renovations, crews will completely replace the bridge’s mechanical and electrical systems and replace the bridge deck.

During Wednesday night’s meeting, the New Haven Fire Department (NHFD) shared their newest Grand Avenue Bridge response plan to update the public on potential emergency vehicle reroutes that have been arranged in advance for community emergencies while the bridge is closed off.

Truck 3 will be relocated when the bridge is open to Route 80 and Quinnipiac Avenue and Truck 1 will be relocated to Wooster and Franklin Street.

Fire Chief John Alston Jr. and Assistant Chief Mark Vendetto shared the department’s research on route changes that will be adjusted when the bridge closes to safely manage reroutes that may cause increased response time. The department compared the amount of time it would take for an engine to arrive at nearby areas when leaving from East Battalion Station on Lombard street to Woodward Station.

In an attempt to avoid extending the project’s construction time beyond what Zinn has been estimating for the public, the project’s contracts state that the bridge can remain closed off for 610 days before the contractor is charged a penalty fee per day.

“While the bridge will remain open, what are your safety precautions for pedestrians not to get curious?” asked Fair Haven Alder Paola Acosta.

Zinn (pictured) answered that there will be chain-linked fences and concrete barriers to close off access to the areas of repair and construction.

Zinn also shared that on Feb. 25 the Ferry Street Bridge will be closed off from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. During a recent regular inspection, the city found that the mechanism that locks the draw bridge together wasn’t perfectly aligned. This will be adjusted later this month.

In result of public concern about the effects the project will have on local businesses, Zinn said six customer parking spots will be maintained for businesses like the wine shop and pizza restaurant on East Grand and Quinnipiac Avenue.

The city’s economic development administration will host a resident-driven celebration on March 6, before the bridge closes. The celebration will have food trucks, local musician performances, and a wine tasting with the wine shop, Grand Vin.

The city will host a ranked-choice vote election to decide which color the repaired bridge will be painted. The option to keep the bridge painted black will no longer be a choice due to black paint naturally being heat-absorbent.

Before removing black as an option, Zinn did some research on a recent suggestion from a community member to use black paint that rejects infrared heat though he learned it is not approved by the federal highway administration on bridges. Voters will have six choices to choose from, which will be announced at the March 6 celebration.

The ballots to vote will be in-person only Zinn said with more information to be provided from March 6 to April 1.

Not only will Fair Haven and Fair Haven Heights neighbors be affected. Since the start of arranging the project, the NHFD has been working on increasing its situational awareness for when the bridge is closed off. The goal is to avoid increasing response times for the areas around.

The department has invested in a technical tool called command control. The tool is on a tablet in each district for emergency responders to be more prepared and make better decisions through better communication at times like when deciding which engine is closest to respond quickest. The department wants to avoid two to three minutes of additional response time to incidents, Alston said.

The idea to add lights to the bridge will not be pursued in this project Zinn said.

The project will be replacing some original steel components of the bridge from 1898.

“A lot of what we’re replacing is 120 years old,” Zinn said.

Zinn said he also looked into a suggestion he received of having the city provide a water taxi service during the rehab but he said it would not be possible. The city would have to acquire an expensive high-level marine license which the project can’t support.

The city plans to have another public update meeting in the future about the expected Quinnipiac traffic changes in spring.

State Rep. Al Paolillo attended to support the project after playing a key role in securing funding for the project.