It’s not the biggest bridge traffic story of the month.
But it’s ours.
In the spring of 2015, the Connecticut Department of Transportation will begin a $2.6 million project to rehabilitate the Merritt Parkway’s North Avenue bridge.
It’s a big project. The bridge is 75 years old, and as with human beings, things happen at that age.
The Merritt Parkway North Avenue bridge.
But the state DOT understands the importance of North Avenue. It’s a major artery in town — and 4 schools (Coleytown Middle and El; Bedford Middle; Staples High) are strung along it.
So, while rehabilitation work will take several months, the plan is to close the road entirely only from mid-June to mid-August, when school is not in session.
A public information meeting is set for this Wednesday (January 15, 7 p.m., Town Hall auditorium) to explain the work, and answer questions. Plans will be available for review.
So let’s see. In Connecticut, officials send out notices about a bridge closing 18 months in advance, and hold a public meeting.
In New Jersey, the governor — sorry, random top-ranking people in his administration he barely knows — close most lanes of the busiest motor vehicle bridge in the world, yet the only communication is gleeful texts and emails among themselves.
Kind of drives home the difference between the 2 states, right?
A different bridge, an hour away.
