By Ken Valenti

WESTPORT–Connecticut transportation officials agreed last night to shave more than two feet off the planned truck clearance on a replacement for the William F. Cribari Bridge, which was unveiled last night. But Westporters determined to keep tractor-trailers off the crossing wanted them to lower it just a little more.

In Westport Town Hall, James R. Barrows, the project manager, with the state Department of Transportation (CTDOT), unveiled a $78 million to $86 million plan for a new bridge. Of several alternatives explored, the CTDOT plans to advance the replacement proposal to the Federal Highway Administration for approval.

The renderings Barrows showed depicted a bridge with a truss similar to that on the current span, but Barrows said it would have modern features.

“The new bridge will address the structural and functional deficiencies (of the Cribari Bridge) while bringing the crossing up to the current design and safety standards,” he said. 

The span would replace the 1884 Cribari Bridge rather than restoring it, as some Westport residents want. Barrows said the clearance would be lowered to 13 feet, 10 inches from the 16 feet, 3 inches previously proposed.

Some of the more than 200 residents in the auditorium initially applauded the compromise, but the discussion quickly returned to the potential for the new bridge to attract tractor trailers, which reach a maximum height of 13 feet, 6 inches. Some of the speakers asked the state to lower the clearance even more.

“This isn’t just for the sake of preserving the historic bridge, it preserves the nature of the town,” said resident Linda Prestegaard. “It’s…been recognized as a historic district and a historic bridge. This town is not interested in compromising on these last six inches.  We cannot have trucks coming through. We must have some sort of physical barrier.”

Derick Lessard, division chief of bridges with CTDOT, said a physical block preventing the larger trucks could create a safety problem.

The truss on the existing bridge carrying Bridge Street – Route 136 – over the Saugatuck River also stands 13 feet, 10 inches over the road. But an electrical box in the metal frame hangs lower than the truss, reducing the actual clearance to 12 feet, 7 inches.

Barrows said the new bridge would come with “improved roadway geometry, modern safety barriers and guardrails,” as well as pedestrian features that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, bicycle-friendly elements and a capacity for larger loads than the current bridge can support, he said.

CTDOT’s goal is to receive approval on a final design by spring. During the three-year construction of the span, motorists would cross the river on a curving temporary bridge erected to the upriver side of the Cribari Bridge.

The CTDOT will accept residents’ responses to the plan until Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. That was an extension from an earlier plan to accept input for 24 hours, but it still left some residents feeling frustrated when they discussed it Monday at an RTM Transit Committee meeting.

About 30 of the residents spoke at last night’s meeting, many of them worried about truck drivers  bypassing traffic on I-95. Some don’t want a new bridge at all, but want to see the existing one restored. RTM member Chris Tait, D1, pointed to the East Haddam Swing Bridge, which was restored when it was 112 years old and opened in 2025, as an example of a span that was preserved rather than replaced.

Lessard said the East Haddam bridge’s superstructure was in better shape than that of the Cribari Bridge.

The CTDOT representatives said they heard the residents’ concerns and were trying to balance them with state and federal rules governing bridge design.

Second Selectwoman Amy Wistreich told the state team that she had never heard back on two ideas she had suggested to them in a meeting last December – to conduct a more “holistic” study of traffic in the area, and to explore timing the traffic lights around I-95’s Exit 17 to create a smoother flow of vehicles.

Barrows said the team had studied 10 or 12 intersections in the area. He also said the team would talk with CTDOT traffic experts about timing the lights.

Ken Valenti

^{_{A career journalist and lifelong resident of the New York City region, Ken Valenti has enjoyed decades of reporting local, regional and national news in New York and Connecticut. Topics of special interest are development, the environment, Long Island Sound and transportation. When not reporting, he’s always on the lookout for the perfect coffee shop or used book sale.}}