Traffic authority sends West Avenue bridge drainage traffic plan back for revision amid major traffic concerns

The Norwalk Traffic Authority on April 21 asked state project representatives and the contractor to return with a revised traffic-control plan after members raised major safety and congestion concerns about proposed nighttime lane closures on West Avenue related to Bridge No. 03023 drainage work.

Prashad Chandra (project representative for the state project 102-371) and Vincent Neri of Waters Construction outlined site conditions that revealed substantially more underground utilities than shown in design drawings, forcing a redesign of drainage and manhole work and increasing the workspace the contractor says it needs. The contractor proposed alternating one-way traffic and nighttime closures that, in one phase, would reduce West Avenue to a single alternating lane overnight (8 p.m.–6 a.m.) for an estimated 1 to 2 weeks; the overall work was estimated at about a month.

“There's not enough time — 8, 10, 12 hours — to excavate and install the drainage structures and backfill because of the utilities,” Neri said, describing why contractor crews say a larger footprint at night is required. Chandra and Waters staff said a full roadway closure would shorten the total work time (the contractor estimated a full closure could reduce the schedule to about two weeks), but the contractor and state representatives said a full daytime or nighttime closure could create significant detour and access problems for motorists and emergency response.

City leaders and the police department pushed back on the proposed plan. Commissioners and Mayor Rilling said that collapsing three lanes into one overnight, and two lanes into one during some day periods, would create substantial queuing and divert traffic to I‑95 Exit 16, Route 7 connectors and surrounding streets. Commissioner Collier Clemens and others warned that single-lane alternating operations at night would require sustained police staffing at each end of the alternating section and would likely generate frequent traffic incidents and complaints.

Chief Walsh and city staff noted cumulative impacts from other nearby projects and closures — including Strawberry Hill Avenue and intermittent closures on East Avenue and 4 Point Street — and told the authority the proposal would compound congestion and complicate emergency response routes. City staff and commissioners asked the state and contractor to provide a revised maintenance-and-protection-of-traffic (MPT) plan that shows specific detours, amended signal timing proposals (including a proposed u-turn modification at the mall driveway), police staffing needs, and options to keep more lanes open for longer or to stage a shorter full closure where feasible.

After nearly an hour of discussion, the authority voted to refer the plan back for further detail and alternatives. The motion passed with ayes recorded by the commissioners and the mayor. The authority directed DOT/contractor to return with updated MPT plans and signal-control revisions and asked city staff to review proposed detours and traffic-control resources before any approval.

The authority’s key requests to DOT and Waters Construction included: a detailed detour plan, revised MPT drawings showing where additional lanes could remain open and where short full closures might be staged to shorten total duration, police staffing estimates for alternating one-way operations, signal timing modifications at the Sono Collection driveway and ramp intersections, and clarity on potential start dates and calendar avoidance for major local events such as Memorial Day.