William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge
Afternoon rush-hour traffic on the William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge. / File photo

By John Schwing

WESTPORT — The latest round in the decades-old saga surrounding the structural safety and operational efficiency of the William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge may be swinging slowly into view — as if imitating the 141-year-old metal swing bridge itself.

The historic span, which carries state Route 136 — locally, Bridge Street — over the Saugatuck River has been periodically engulfed in controversy over whether it should be rehabilitated or replaced since the late 1950s.

The most recent round of wrangling was triggered in 2015 when the state Department of Transportation classified the bridge as “severely deficient” and in need of extensive repairs or perhaps complete replacement.  

Aerial view of the 1884 swing bridge, spanning the Saugatuck River. / Photo, Google Earth

Among the factors complicating the debate is the span’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places and designation of the affected stretch of Route 136 as a State Scenic Highway.

Several years of pushback prompted then-First Selectman Jim Marpe in 2017 to ask the regional planing agency to delete a DOT request for bridge rehab/replacement funds until the agency conducted a broad-based assessment of what any changes to the bridge might have on the Saugatuck neighborhood, traffic, the environment and historical considerations.

Project Advisory Committee’s first meeting since 2019

As part of that process, a Cribari Project Advisory Committee was established in 2018. That group of local “stakeholders” was asked to provide input to DOT officials. A list of representatives named to the committee at the time of its creation can be found by clicking here.

The committee has not been convened since 2019.

That is expected to change, as the DOT earlier this month issued an invitation to PAC members to attend a meeting, scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, May 15, in Town Hall’s auditorium, 110 Myrtle Ave.

The DOT’s invitation acknowledges there “have been significant developments both within the community and concerning the project itself” during the intervening six years, and the session is planned to “provide updates and discuss the project’s progress.”

The meeting, as currently planned, is for PAC members only and not the general public, according to a statement provided Monday to the Westport Journal.

William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge / featured image
The Cribari Bridge, carrying state Route 136 over the Saugatuck River, was classified “severely deficient” by the state Department of Transportation in 2015.

“Opportunities for public input” to come later

“Opportunities for public input will be provided during the information session scheduled for later this summer,” the DOT statement said.

As for the status of the Cribari project (No. 0158-0214), a DOT spokesman Monday said the Environmental Assessment and Environmental Impact Evaluation phase has not been completed, and the design phase has yet to begin.

“We anticipate completing the evaluation by late fall,” the spokesman said.

The planned meetings are among the first public signs of progress on the Cribari project since Marpe asked for a pause in 2017.

Last year, regional planners endorsed a DOT request to restore $4.1 million for the right-of-way and final design phase for the bridge’s rehabilitation or replacement in its statewide transportation improvement plan, or “TIP.”

John Schwing, consulting editor of the Westport Journal, has held senior editorial and writing posts at southwestern Connecticut media outlets for four decades. Learn more about us here.

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