By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT —  Thousands of motorcycles are expected to roll through town Saturday in tribute to victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Route 33, a state road, will be closed to all other traffic as the 2021 CT United Ride motorcade heads up Saugatuck Avenue, Riverside Avenue and Wilton Road.

The staging area for the CT United Ride, expected to attract from 3,000 to 5,000 motorcyclists, is Sherwood Island State Park. The riders are scheduled to hit road about 11 a.m. Saturday.

The parade will disrupt local traffic, particularly crossing town in east and west directions, for 90 minutes or more, officials indicate.

Southbound travel on Interstate 95 between exits 18 and 17 also will be affected, because the right lane will be coned-off for the motorcade.

“The traffic in Westport on Saturday morning will be a little troubled,” First Selectman James Marpe said at Wednesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. 

“This is fair warning that Saturday morning between 10 and noon, traffic will be — bad probably won’t begin to describe it,” Marpe said. “But I hope people will understand that this is in recognition, in memoriam, of primarily first responders.” 

Westport officers will be stationed at all major intersections along the route to assist with traffic control Saturday, according to Lt. David Wolf, the police spokesman. That usually requires at least six officers, he said.

Westport motorcycle officers, joined by others from nearby communities, also will assist in escorting the United Ride parade, Wolf said.

This year’s CT United Ride begins at Sherwood Island State Park rather than its usual rally point, Norden Park in Norwalk. There is construction on the Norden site, and much of the lot has been leased.

After leaving Sherwood Island, the motorcyclists will head south on I-95 to Exit 17 in Westport to their usual route, north on Route 33. The route continues into Wilton, Redding, Bethel, Newtown, Monroe, Trumbull and ends in Bridgeport.

A variable message sign on Saugatuck Avenue is warning there will be no overnight parking on the road from Friday night until 1 p.m. Saturday.

Larger turnout expected for 20th anniversary of 9/11

Fred Garrity Jr., executive director of CT United Ride, said the parking prohibition on Saugatuck Avenue is because the motorcade will need room to turn left off I-95’s Exit 17 ramp.

“The highway’s going to have safety cones up, the slow lane is going to be closed by state police at 11 a.m.,” Garrity said of I-95.

“A normal year we get 1,500 to 2,000,” Garrity said of the riders. “We got over 4,000 for the 10-year anniversary. This year, being the 20th, we expect between 3,000 and 5,000.”

“We encourage people to come out along the route,” he said, noting that the town with the most onlookers and decorations will win $2,500, which local leaders can contribute to a charitable cause of their choice.

The event is the largest motorcycle ride in New England, and the largest fundraiser in Connecticut for law enforcement and firefighters, according to the CT United Ride website.

For more information and to register, click here.