Route 7 bridge will close in June

FALLS VILLAGE — The state Department of Transportation announced that, weather permitting, the Route 7 bridge by Housatonic Valley Regional High School will be closed to traffic beginning at 4 a.m. Saturday, June 12, until 6 a.m. Monday, June 14.

Similarly, the bridge will be closed from 4 a.m. Saturday, June 19, through 6 a.m. Monday, June 21.

Graduation at Housatonic Valley Regional High School is Friday, June 18, at 6:30 p.m.

Workers will be erecting new bridge girders as part of the the replacement of the bridge, which is officially known as Bridge No. 00562.

Detour signs will be in place and the detour routes are:

• Northbound: Route 112 west to Route 41 north to the Route 44/126 intersection. Falls Village traffic may continue on Route 126 to Route 7. Northbound through traffic will continue along Route 44 to Route 7 in North Canaan. The temporary detour will increase the trip length by 7.4 miles for northbound traffic destined for North Canaan and by 12.3 miles for northbound traffic destined for Falls Village center.

• Southbound: Route 126 north to Route 44 west to Route 41 south to Route 112 west to Route 7 near Lime Rock Park. The temporary detour will increase the trip length by 12.3 miles for southbound traffic in Falls Village destined for  Route 112.

The bridge will remain closed to pedestrians during the temporary detour. Appalachian Trail hikers will be detoured westerly along Route 112 and northerly along Dugway Road to reconnect to the trail at Falls Mountain Road on the west side of the Housatonic River.

Motorists should expect minor delays.

The project was awarded to Brunalli Construction Company of Southington on May 2, 2008. Last year’s heavy spring and summer rains caused delays, and the original completion date was pushed back a couple of months to September 2010. The cost of the bridge replacement is $11,598,477.20, according to the DOT.

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