Petition Update: Federal Review Questions Submitted

Thank you to the more than 1,700 people who have signed this petition requesting careful federal oversight of the proposed Cribari Bridge project in Westport. Since our last update, four recognized consulting parties to the federal Section 106 review process have jointly submitted a detailed letter to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), and the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). The submission raises questions regarding the scope of the federal review, including: • The Area of Potential Effects (APE) for the project; • Potential indirect and cumulative impacts on the Bridge Street National Register Historic District; • Visual and contextual effects on the district’s historic character; • Traffic-related impacts and reasonably foreseeable future conditions; and • Other procedural issues relating to federal historic-preservation review. These questions do not concern design preferences alone. Rather, they address whether the federal review process has fully evaluated potential effects on a nationally recognized historic district. The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), the independent federal agency charged with overseeing the Section 106 process, has indicated that it is monitoring the matter. On June 1, the consulting parties submitted a follow-up request asking FHWA, CTDOT, and SHPO to confirm that the May 11 submission has been entered into the administrative record and to provide an estimated timeframe for a written response. At present, the consulting parties continue to participate in good faith in the federal review process and remain focused on ensuring that all applicable historic-preservation and environmental-review requirements are fully satisfied before irreversible decisions are made. We appreciate your continued interest and support and will provide additional updates as substantive responses become available.