In 2016, the state Department of Transportation warned of an urgent need to fix the Newtown Turnpike Merritt Parkway bridge.
Deterioration could lead to capstone and fascia falling hazards, an engineer said.
Three years later, those urgent repairs begin.
The Merritt Parkway Newtown Turnpike bridge. (Photo/Jonathan McClure)
Beginning “on or about June 24,” Newtown Turnpike will be closed between Wilton Road and Crawford Road.
Drivers coming from the south (Norwalk) will be detoured to Cranbury Road, Chestnut Hill Road and Wilton Road. They’ll connect back to Newtown Turnpike north of the Merritt.
Drivers coming from the north will do the reverse, getting back on Newtown Turnpike south of the parkway.
Work is expected to be completed by August 27.
It’s a pain, sure. But so is getting conked on the roof by falling debris.
And it’s better than Greenwich. A similar project there — work on the Lake Avenue Merritt Parkway bridge — will result in a detour of 8 1/2 miles.
Through October.