The Connecticut Department of Transportation has completed the design of a project on a centrally located bridge and is looking to advertise the job by end of year, a spokesperson said.
The “rehabilitation” project is for the Putnam Bridge, which connects the towns of Wethersfield and Glastonbury over the Connecticut River and carries a significant amount of traffic.
The project, slated to begin in 2026, aims to address the “structural deficiencies” of the Putnam Bridge, in order to “maintain safe travel for all facility users and to maintain a ‘state of good repair,’” according to the DOT.
“The project includes repairing or replacing deficient structural members, improving the condition rating of all structural elements to ‘satisfactory’ (6) or better, concrete deck patching, and installing a new waterproofing membrane and overlay,” according to DOT.
Cyclist Gary Kleeblatt of Wethersfield, rides his bike along the recently opened Putnam Bridge Trail connecting Wethersfield to Glastonbury over the Connecticut River on Friday, May 10, 2024. The trial is part of the South Meadow Greenway. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
Ron Sacchi, described as a project manager for GM2 Associates, Inc., gave a brief project introduction on the project at a virtual public information meeting in 2024, saying the bridge structural evaluation rating at that point was 5, or Fair, according to a record of that meeting.
The bridge, a key span in Greater Hartford, carries Route 3 over the Connecticut River.
At the 2024 meeting, it was noted that the, “existing roadway was described as a fourteen-span structure, approximately 2,393 feet long over the Connecticut River, with a 31.9-foot wide curb-to-curb width for two lanes lane in each direction.” The estimated construction cost for the project is “dependent on steel beam end painting and full steel structure painting was stated to be anticipated between $31.4 to $65.3 million,” dependent on “collection of older lead-based paint before rehabilitation vs. removal of all existing lead-based paint with new steel paint coating,” a record of the meeting notes.
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“The bridge main span unit consists of the four spans over the Connecticut River which includes the longest length span (319 feet), while the approach spans are defined as being over land,” the report noted.
Further, the proposed rehabilitation work to the bridge was presented as multiple components, including “strengthening repairs to the main girders, patching and repair of the concrete deck slab including replacement waterproofing membrane, and new overlay, replacement of all expansion joints, including the main span expansion joints, and miscellaneous repairs to the steel stringers, and concrete abutments and piers to increase the current bridge condition rating.”
Signs along the Putnam Bridge Trail connecting Wethersfield to Glastonbury over the Connecticut River on Friday, May 10, 2024.The trail is part of the South Meadow Greenway. (Aaron Flaum/Hartford Courant)
The officials noted maintenance of traffic is expected to have one lane in each direction operating during the work and it is not anticipated the bridge would require closure during the rehabilitation work.
Sacchi noted during the meeting that the Putnam Bridge Trail would remain open for the duration of construction, and it is anticipated that there will be minimal impacts with the construction and the trail. “The branch trail on the Glastonbury side will be temporarily/intermittently impacted when working on substructure on Glastonbury side.” He also noted, when asked about the cost of painting the full bridge, that the “original paint on the bridge was lead-based paint and will need to be fully contained during the paint removal process prior to the application of the new paint along the bridge superstructure steel components.”
Construction is anticipated to start in spring 2026, according to a DOT spokesperson. The project is expected to be undertaken with 80% federal funds and 20% state funds, according to the DOT.
Right-of-way impacts associated with the proposed project are not anticipated, according to the DOT.
