By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — A project by the state Department of Transportation to make a treacherous stretch of Interstate 95 safer has begun.

The work includes reconstruction of the bridge carrying I-95 over Saugatuck Avenue. That will be done over two weekends, the DOT said.

State Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, noted Friday on Facebook that the work between exits 16 in Norwalk and 17 in Westport appears to have begun.

“I’m glad to see this project finally move forward,” he said. “This is the last section on I-95 in our area with a grassy median that has yet to be improved with current safety standards. That’s probably why there are a high number of fatalities, especially on the southbound side.”

The DOT lists its goals on its website:

• Reconstruction of the center median and right shoulders, along with resurfacing of the highway mainline and ramps at Interchanges 16 and 17.

• Reconstruction of median consistent with other stretches of I-95, to provide a 6-foot-wide capped concrete barrier section.

• Widening of left and right shoulders where possible.

• Improving drainage by replacing and rerouting drainage structures.

• Replacing existing highway illumination system.

• Installation of realigned traffic Incident Management System.

• Installation of new guide rails.

• Utilization of wet retroreflective pavement markings to provide increased visibility in wet conditions.

Also, the DOT said, “several bridges along the corridor will have repairs and specifically, the I-95 over Route 33 (Saugatuck Avenue) will be replaced.”

That will be done over two weekends, the DOT said, “utilizing an Accelerated Bridge Construction Methods called Lateral Slide, which minimizes the disruption to I-95 commuters.”

Learn more about that method of construction here.

The spans over Franklin Street and the Riverside Avenue/the Saugatuck River will have “concrete deck repairs, the replacement of expansion joints and installation of new standpipes,” the DOT said.

“Construction is always inconvenient and frustrating, but the improvements will make for a safer and smoother ride,” Duff told the Westport Journal on Friday night.

“The Yankee Doodle Bridge over the Norwalk River is almost done and work continues on the Strawberry Hill Ave Bridge over I-95 in Norwalk,” he said. “All of these projects — including the infrastructure work surrounding the entire Walk Bridge program, which includes multiple railroad bridges — means residents will have updated and modern roads and rails in the very near future.”

Thane Grauel, the Westport Journal executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond more than three decades. Learn more about us here.