State DOT releases funding for Ferry Street bridge work

(2/15/2006) Mayor John DeStefano, Jr. announced today that the state Department of Transportation has advertised for a contractor to rebuild the Ferry Street Bridge and thanked neighborhood residents and state and federal legislators who pushed hard to expedite the project.

“With the community’s help, we have succeeded in moving the design and review process along quickly given the scope of a project this size,” DeStefano said. “I am indebted to U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro for their help in securing funds. We are now entering the last stage of getting the bridge back in service - the actual construction – which will lead to reopening an important City corridor in the Fair Haven area. A special note of thanks is due to the South Central Regional Council of Governments, which put the Ferry Street bridge at the top of its regional agenda.”

The project will be advertised beginning today, with sealed bids due back March 15. A site visit for interested contractors will be conducted February 28th. City Engineer Richard Miller said the construction period will be listed as 900 days, but city officials believe it will take less time and the bridge will reopen to vehicle traffic sometime within the construction period. Miller said the DOT, DEP and Coast Guard were responsive to City and resident concerns in helping to expedite the bridge project.

[END]