Washington, DC — Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) announced that the Federal Railroad Administration has awarded $488.2 million for the replacement of Norwalk’s WALK Bridge and Westport’s Saugatuck River Bridge. This funding is allocated through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and comes as part of nearly $2 billion to be delivered to 10 projects across Connecticut.
“After years in Congress fighting for federal money to upgrade and replace Norwalk’s WALK Bridge and the Westport Saugatuck River Bridge, I am elated to have helped secure nearly $500 million to bring these projects across the finish line,” said Congressman Himes. “I spend much of my time as a Representative thinking about how to modernize the rail systems and bridges in our community, but the best part about receiving a grant like this is knowing that eventually my constituents won’t have to think about infrastructure at all. Rather than worrying about traffic delays or train disruptions, commuters will be free to think about that big project at work, an upcoming homework assignment, or whatever else matters most in their lives.”
Connecticut will receive a total of $1,998,799,600 in funding for 10 projects. The grants to be delivered to Connecticut’s Fourth Congressional District include:
- $465m for the WALK Bridge Replacement Project
- This project will replace the existing deteriorated bridge with a resilient bridge structure to improve safety and reliability of rail service along the New Haven Line and NEC, while improving navigational capacity and dependability for marine traffic in the Norwalk River.
- $23.2m for the Saugatuck River Bridge Replacement
- This project will replace the bascule bridge which carries four railroad tracks over the Saugatuck River in Westport, CT, which will improve safety and allow increases to the maximum authorized speed through this section of track.