Maritime Alert – July 11, 2023
The Connecticut Department of Transportation announces the following:
Due to the anticipated flooding of the Connecticut River in the coming days, the East Haddam Swing Bridge’s schedule for limited openings this week will now include two additional openings on Wednesday, the schedule will be as follows:
- Wednesday 7/12 – 10am & 1pm
- Thursday 7/13 – 10am & 1pm
- Saturday 7/15 – 10am & 1pm
- Sunday 7/16 – 10am & 1pm
Boaters are advised that the swing span is still in a state of disrepair and that each of these openings will require monitoring by a team of engineers, if during an opening, the team witnesses anything that potentially puts the bridge at risk, all future openings will be canceled until further notice.
Also, the contractor has temporarily removed a portion of their suspended scaffold to provide additional vertical clearance for boats that generally do not require the bridge to swing opening to pass through. The temporary scaffold removal was done in the channel that is closest to the East Haddam shoreline.
The tide clearance boards are recommended as the best reference for gauging clearance at time of passage, the boards are located on the swing span pivot pier and the bulkhead at Goodspeed, both have been adjusted to reflect the vertical clearances in locations of the contractor’s suspended scaffold. Be advised that there is approximately 3 feet of additional clearance in the location where the scaffold was temporarily removed.
Navigational beacons have been installed on the bridge to designate the channel.
Please be advised:
- You can receive TEXT Alerts for bridge closures and re-openings, closure cancellations, and any emergency closures. To Opt-in, text the word SWINGBRIDGE to 888777. (Message and Data rates may apply). In addition to SMS messages, if you would like to receive Swing Bridge open/closed status notices via email or a voice call from Everbridge, please click here to enter the required information. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to Opt-out.
- Project WEBCAMS for monitoring traffic conditions on the bridge (one on each side of the river) and tide board clearance for maritime are available 24/7, the camera feeds are viewable from our project website homepage
If you have any questions related to construction, please send an e-mail to [email protected]