CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION NEWS RELEASE 2800 BERLIN TURNPIKE P.O. BOX 317546 NEWINGTON CONNECTICUT, 06131-7546

FOR RELEASE: April 10, 2018

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS TELEPHONE: (860) 594-3062 FAX: (860) 594-3065 WEB SITE: www.ct.gov/dot

CTDOT Launches Business Survey for the Walk Bridge Program

Survey information to aid in construction mitigation

The Connecticut Department of Transportation today announced that a local business survey is being conducted as part of the Walk Bridge Program’s Business Coordination Plan (BCP). The BCP is designed to gather information from businesses in Norwalk and surrounding areas to identify and develop potential construction mitigations during the replacement of the Walk Bridge, which carries four railroad tracks across the Norwalk River. CTDOT encourages all local business owners to complete the survey, which is designed to help the Program understand daily business operations.

The Walk Bridge Program and Norwalk Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Institute began gathering data for the BCP in March by conducting interviews with businesses near Washington Street. Program representatives are distributing paper versions of the survey to businesses in additional locations close to the Walk Bridge Replacement, CP243 Interlocking and Danbury Branch Dockyard Project areas.

The survey is available online at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WalkBridgeSurvey through the end of May. Additionally, surveys are available at the Walk Bridge Welcome Center located at 20 Marshall Street, open during the following days and times:

·         Tuesday: 8:00 AM-4:00 PM

·         Thursday: 12:00 PM-5:00 PM

·         Friday: 8:00 AM-3:00 PM

Once the survey period closes on May 31, 2018, data will be discussed with the City of Norwalk and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, as well as local businesses, and recommendations for construction mitigation will be made to the Connecticut Department of Transportation.

The Walk Bridge Replacement Project is anticipated to start construction in 2019. The Project replaces the 122-year-old deteriorating swing-span railroad bridge. The bridge is a critical transportation link on the Northeast Corridor and carries Metro-North’s New Haven Line, Amtrak and freight services, daily. The new Walk Bridge will provide safe and more reliable rail transportation services and improve navigational capacity and dependability for waterway users.

More detailed information on the Walk Bridge Program is available online at www.walkbridgect.com.