Construction is officially underway to replace the Walk Bridge, the troublesome 127-year-old Norwalk, Conn., railroad crossing with a new, more reliable structure better suited to the northeast’s growing volume of passenger traffic.

A May 14 groundbreaking ceremony in Norwalk signaled the beginning of the six-year, $925-million Connecticut Dept. of Transportation project, which calls for two independent, two-track vertical lift spans to be built around the existing four-track swing bridge spanning the Norwalk River to safely preserve two-track service throughout construction. The HNTB-designed replacement bridge will also include 145-ft-tall lift towers that will lift each of new 240-ft-long spans approximately 60 ft, providing redundancy in the event of a track outage. New fixed east and west approaches, embankments and abutments will also be built.

CTDOT has tapped the joint venture of Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, and Middlesex Corp., Littleton, Mass., for the project, which marks the state’s first use of construction manager/general contractor (CMGC) project delivery. WSP is providing program management, construction engineering and inspection services. The federal government is providing 80% of the Walk Bridge’s funding, with the remainder coming from the state.

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