Construction began Jan. 2 on a $76-million replacement for an 87-year-old Amtrak bridge spanning the Thames River in New London, Conn. Under a contract awarded in October, Cianbro Corp., Pittsfield, Maine, will replace the bridge's bascule section with a new lift span, Amtrak Acting President and CEO David Hughes told reporters in a Jan. 11 telephone conference call. HNTB is the design firm for the project.
The project will take more than two years to complete. Amtrak estimates the key milestone will occur in November 2007, when contractors will remove the existing bascule section and its 4-million-pound counterweight. Barges will deliver a 450-ton vertical lift span for replacement. While that phase of the work is carried out, rail service will be halted at New London for four days, and passengers will cross the river by bus.