CTDOT can be flexible.
More than a dozen state Department of Transportation representatives — including deputy commissioner Laoise King — came to Town Hall last night, for a public meeting about the future of the Cribari Bridge.
“Save Saugatuck From Semis” signs greeted residents at Town Hall yesterday.
They offered a dry presentation, focused on structural engineering issues.
The public could comment afterward, they said — but only at a table near the front, speaking individually to a transcriber.
The public howled.
DOT — perceived as inflexible by many residents, during discussions over the past few years about the 143-year-old span — relented.
Residents could indeed step up the microphone and address the entire audience– including the DOT staff — the moderator said.
The public applauded.
Part of the Town Hall crowd last night.
For nearly 2 hours, the public — Representative Town Meeting members, other citizens, even the owner of the small Bridge Street house that once belonged to the bridge tender – spoke.
Nearly all emphasized two things: traffic and safety. Environmental concerns, and fears of damage to homes from the vibrations of semis, were raised too.
Kristen Schneeman — who demanded that she be allowed to speak from the lectern, not the corner table — was first. Her comments set the tone for the night.
The RTM member noted that public opinion has recently converged around 2 needs: preventing tractor-trailer traffic from creating a “fourth lane of I-95 that jeopardizes safety, health, and quality of life well beyond the Bridge Street historic area,” and preserving the historic character of a local icon.
She said that CTDOT’s Highway Design Manual calls on designers to be “imaginative, innovative and flexible,” asking “if the oldest active movable highway bridge in Connecticut does not merit that flexibility, what does?”
RTM member Kristin Purcell and Westport Alliance for Saugatuck member Dara Lamb both said that state officials are encouraging more housing in Saugatuck, as a “Transit-Oriented District.”
Why then, they wondered, should tractor-trailers be added to an already congested area?
RTM member Kristin Mott Purcell.
Greens Farms Association president Art Schoeller called Greens Farms Road “already a go-to pass-through” for I-95. His organization, he said, opposed “any alternative that would allow trucks” in that neighborhood.
Carole Reichhelm drew applause when she thanked CTDOT for their extensive work on the project.
But, she added, “you’ve given waivers and allowed exemptions many times before, for a variety of reasons. Why wouldn’t the Cribari Bridge qualify for one?
“You can’t stop Waze,” she concluded. “But you can stop trucks. We want to work with you on this.”
Morley Boyd of the Westport Preservation Alliance held a copy of the CTDOT’s own Bridge Preservation Plan. (All photos/Dan Woog)
Public comment on the Cribari Bridge project (#0158-0214) is open through April 17.
Comments can be made online (click here); by email (James.Barrows@ct.gov); voicemail (860-594-2020), or mail (James Barrows, 2800 Berlin Turnpike, Newington, CT 06131).
To learn more about the Cribari Bridge project, click here.
Last night DOT actually tried to hold a public hearing – without the HEARING part. Who does this? Thank you, Kristin, for standing up to that authoritarian nonsense. The best excuse the DOT could come up with when confronted over this obvious attempt to muzzle us was that we’re afraid of speaking in public. Really? This is Westport. We’re not timid people – especially when it comes to offering our opinions. Trying to suppress our ability to address the community wasn’t a good look.
Last night your group had an opportunity to sit in front of the kind woman from DOT at that table—the one transcribing everything anyone wanted to say. That included questions, criticisms, ridicule, and comments, Maybe even ideas to improve the project and All of this would be formally responded to by CTDOT.
While I’m sure it feels good to get on the soapbox and enjoy the energy it brings, Intentionally riling people up for support.
What you really did was silence the folks who could and would have spoken with that very proficient woman but didn’t feel comfortable public speaking. Y’all email CTDOT daily; I’m betting half the people in that room have not sent an idea or question ever. Interesting tactic.
I was so PROUD of our town last night!!! Thank you to all the leaders and Organizations for your hard work and passion in galvanizing us all to stand up and protect the CRIBARI BRIDGE and thereby the quality of life in the place we all call HOME. Shout out to Morley Boyd, Art Schoeller, Ian Warburg, Dara Lamb, all the RTM members, to name but a few people who came together to lead the charge …
During the March 19, 2026 public hearing, a speaker for CTDOT briefly verbally indicated that a Right-of-Way analysis identified approximately ten properties and one dock as potentially affected by the project. No slide or poster seemed to be referred to.
No map, list of properties, or description of the nature of these potential impacts (temporary or permanent) was provided at the meeting nor, to my knowledge, at previous stage of the project.
Without this information, it is not possible for affected property owners or the public to meaningfully evaluate or comment on the project’s impacts, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Section 106 review process under the National Historic Preservation Act.
I have requested that CTDOT and FHWA provide:
Identification of all properties under consideration for Right-of-Way acquisition or easement
Mapping showing the extent and type of potential impacts
Clarification of whether impacts are temporary (construction) or permanent
Given that this information was introduced after the start of the public comment period, I also requested that the comment period be extended or reopened following disclosure so that the public and affected property owners have a meaningful opportunity to respond.
Whether inadvertent or intentional the curveballs this CTDOT team is throwing are all foul balls and a new umpire is needed… sign the ever growing petition calling for it.
https://www.change.org/p/request-federal-oversight-on-cribari-bridge-replacement?recruiter=553614650&recruited_by_id=b3508670-2d63-11e6-83a6-0988755f0465&utm_source=share_petition&utm_campaign=petition_dashboard_share_modal&utm_medium=email&share_id=YJkSzYQVS8
Kristen Schneeman earns her stripes every time. I am fortunate to have her as my RTM representative here in the inimitable District 9. She summed up my thoughts succinctly and with the same passion.
I watched the show from afar and was proud as can be of my fellow Westport citizens. We need the state to be our collaborative partner, now more than ever. I was glad to see our community come together to make that clear last night.
Did your group really use the Sandy Hook kids and burning school bus for fire‑and‑brimstone shock factor? Was that really a way to get the CTDOT to listen?
While I support the voices being heard, and CTDOT did provide a platform for that “hearing,” last night was not working with the DOT — it was a sideshow.
I had the same reaction. Suggesting that replacing the bridge was another Sandy Hook for our kids (with the fiery truck photo) was the “jump the shark” moment. The DOT gave a very sobering presentation; responding with hyperbole is rather ineffective.
I also don’t understand how we can have pedestrians getting run over by speeding trucks, while at the same time we have complete gridlock and traffic with cars that aren’t moving.
I wish the summary above was more balanced. Some people spoke in favor of replacement, but you wouldn’t know it from the recap above — it just has a subtle “nearly all” reference without any actual quotes from those not in the “nearly all” camp who support replacement.
For me, the scariest moment was when DOT showed pictures of the current state of the bridge, which is in serious decay. It’s only a matter of time before that bridge will be completely shut down due to safety concerns, like other bridges in the state (and across the country).
For the record, those photos were taken when the condition report was reviewed by the PAC.
Last Nites “Pitchfork” crowed, yelled at CTDOT for over two hours, they also manipulated the state into removing T.I.P funding back then, even thou they were told the funding would eventually return since the span was expected to fail and at a minimum be derated further and closed to fire trucks entirely.
At the PAC, the deputy chief stated the ladder wasn’t able to cross, just like today, and the pumpers were just 130lbs under the weight rating at the time. Then came the kicker—a pandemic hit.
So, the “pitchfork” crowd ended up subjecting residents to what will be a 14-year delay with no progress toward making the span safe again. Last Nite was so counterproductive, I didn’t even bother to speak. Imagine that.