Prestigious_Bobcat29 t1_j8nhola wrote on February 15, 2023 at 4:41 PM

Oh my sweet summer child.

The project was stalled for a bit waiting for funding but has been underway and will continue to be for the next decade or so. Thus far has been superstructure work that hasn’t necessitated much disruption, but that will change in about 2 years iirc. The bridge turns 80 this year and is in need of major rehab. Of course, it still needs to be operable throughout the rehab as well, which is why it takes so long

sweaterandsomenikes t1_j8ntut7 wrote on February 15, 2023 at 6:00 PM

I work on it. First phase is all structural steel repair, under the bridge. AKA the only evidence of work from above is the lane closure to reduce live load on repair nodes. Three year contract that started in spring 2022. 2nd and 3rd phases saw the engineer get fired so another design needs to come out. I expect at least a year delay from that. Hopefully phases 2 and 3 (they are combined) go out to bid for construction to begin in 2026.

mkt853 t1_j8nicxc wrote on February 15, 2023 at 4:46 PM

Why don't they just make a new bridge if it's that old like they did with the Baldwin and Q?

Prestigious_Bobcat29 t1_j8nl0b3 wrote on February 15, 2023 at 5:03 PM

I can’t speak for federal DOT, but I’m sure alternatives were studied and this was deemed the best solution. Could be sub base/coast guard related, could have just been prohibitively expensive. Could have been too difficult to work around all the rail infrastructure surrounding the bridge

Backpacker7385 t1_j8nqujz wrote on February 15, 2023 at 5:41 PM

This is a big part of the answer. Maintaining the Thames River with a navigable channel for submarines is the number one priority, as the Groton Sub Base is the single most important sub base in the Navy’s arsenal. That factor throws a major wrench into building a new bridge.

Popular_Bid_3343 t1_j8ojejx wrote on February 15, 2023 at 8:43 PM

Out of curiosity, is the Groton Sub Base really the most important base? Why?

Backpacker7385 t1_j8ojuxe wrote on February 15, 2023 at 8:46 PM

Location. It doesn’t make sense looking at a flat map, but if you look at a globe and realize that subs can go under the polar ice cap it becomes much more clear. It’s faster to get a submarine to coastal Russian waters from Groton than from San Diego.

paintball6818 t1_j8nqool wrote on February 15, 2023 at 5:40 PM

The Baldwin bridge didn’t have adequate capacity so it was decided to build new. Q bridge also didn’t have adequate capacity and had giant holes in the footings so rehab wasn’t an option. Goldstar bridge has the capacity so they chose the cheaper option to rehab it.