East Haddam Seeks Limits on Swing Bridge Openings

East Haddam First Selectman Mark Walter will formally ask the U.S. Coast Guard to limit the opening of the Haddam swing bridge to once per hour, now that the Arrigoni Bridge reconstruction project has begun.

Walter said Tuesday he will make the request when he completes his review of bridge opening data he has obtained from the Coast Guard, the agency that has authority over the swing bridge openings.

Walter said his data indicates there were two days last year when the bridge opened 19 times to let large boats pass.

“That’s a lot. That’s almost five hours (all day) when you couldn’t go across the bridge.”

It also indicates, Walter said, that the Coast Guard is opening the bridge for boats purely on demand instead of on a regular schedule.

On average, Walter said, the data shows that the bridge opens four to five times per day.

He said he will ask the Coast Guard to instead open the bridge on a regular schedule, once per hour and only if there is a boat that needs to pass under it. That way, he said, motorists and boaters would be able to work around the bridge schedule, which could limit traffic backups in his town.

“If you know the schedule than you would be able to time your trip,” he said.

Walter’s concerns about the nearly 100-year-old swing bridge and local traffic are the result of the repair project on the Arrigoni Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River between Middletown and Portland. The Haddam swing bridge, located to the south of the Arrigoni Bridge, has been identified by the state as an alternate river crossing.

As of Tuesday, the Arrigoni’s four lanes were  limited to two, one in each direction. Walter said he’s still gauging traffic in his town to determine if there’s been an uptick in the number of vehicles using the swing bridge.

But when the metal bridge opens for boats, he said, it snarls traffic on local roads and through the village, where town offices and the Goodspeed Opera House are located.