Four Organizations United—Meeting Notice
THE CRIBARI BRIDGE: Traffic, Safety, Tractor-Trailers
Dear Neighbors,
Make your voice heard! We URGE YOU attend the CTDOT in-person meeting:
Thursday, Nov 12 @ 7pm @ Westport Town Hall (110 Myrtle Street, Westport)
Two things are at stake: the safety and quality of life in our neighborhoods, and an irreplaceable piece of Westport’s history.
The Cribari Bridge, built in 1884, and the Bridge Street Historic District are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. CTDOT itself acknowledges their significance.
Saugatuck and Greens Farms are already overwhelmed by traffic. The existing bridge already carries an average daily traffic load of 13,100 [page 11]*.
Traffic studies used are woefully out of date. "Level of service" ratings are from 2016 data [page 48]*. This is unacceptable.
Without real protections neighborhood roads could become a fourth lane of I-95, sending tractor-trailers past homes, cyclists, pedestrians, and children waiting for school buses.
Whatever happens to the bridge, PERMANENT, ENFORCEABLE height and weight restrictions must keep tractor-trailers off neighborhood roads as an alternate route to I95.
Safety and preservation are not at odds. A state transportation project must not solve one problem by creating others.
Four community organizations representing more than 7,000 residents have united to protect and preserve Saugatuck, Greens Farms and this vital access route that has future implications for all Westport residents, businesses, and neighborhoods.
JOIN US. SHOW UP. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!
November 12, 2026 - 7 PM - WESTPORT TOWN HALL - 110 Myrtle Street - Westport, CT
Westport Alliance for Saugatuck in association with
Save Westport Now 💠 Greens Farms Association 💠 Westport Preservation Alliance
Saugatuck already experienced what happens when large transportation decisions reshape a neighborhood when I95 dissected and nearly destroyed it.
For generations, the riverfront village was a place of work and connection. The Saugatuck River linked farmers, merchants, manufacturers, and shipowners to markets; wharves, warehouses, stores, and homes grew along its banks. The name “Saugatuck” reaches back to the Paugussett language, and the village’s history predates Westport’s incorporation in 1835.
That history took a physical blow in the mid-20th century. In the 1950s, construction of I-95 demolished homes, erased roads, and uprooted families in the heart of the neighborhood. Riverside Avenue and the riverfront community were left in the highway’s shadow. The historic core faded, and Saugatuck’s once-vital streets were increasingly treated as a passage through the area rather than the center of a living neighborhood. A local account describes I-95 as having “ripped the heart out” of Saugatuck.
After decades of disrepair and neglect, Saugatuck began to find new life just a decade ago. In 2010, the Gault family built Saugatuck Center, helping renew part of Riverside Avenue. Over time, local businesses and restaurants began to return, with the Metro North station an important anchor. Saugatuck is once again a place to live, work, gather, and walk—not simply a remnant beneath the highway. That revival reflects years of effort to restore a sense of neighborhood after earlier decisions had damaged it.
The current Cribari Bridge debate again raises the question: will a transportation project be designed around the needs and history of Saugatuck, or will it once again bear the brunt of a solution?
Historic preservation has worked for other historic swing bridges, namely in East Haddam, whose very recent “adaptive rehabilitation” was 80% funded by the federal government. Whether this solution is chosen or not, the historic district and town stakeholders deserve to be central to the decision, not an afterthought.
The stakes extend beyond the bridge itself. The state’s stated goals for this neighborhood, due to its proximity to transit, are for it to become more pedestrian friendly, not increase the potential for safety hazards and/or tragic events. In recent years, Saugatuck experienced a pedestrian fatality as well as a critical, life-changing pedestrian injury. If a bridge solution increases the movement of heavy trucks through these narrow, pedestrian-laden roads, the harm could reach well beyond the span: to children waiting for buses, people walking to local businesses, residents trying to cross their own streets, and the historic character that gives the district its identity.
Saugatuck has already paid a steep price for a past transportation project. The goal of any solution should be more than getting traffic across the river. It should be to preserve what can be preserved, make safety a priority, and ensure that no solution turns Saugatuck and Greens Farms streets into another truck route. The community has finally transformed with a growing economic impact and must not be sacrificed again. Stakeholders deserve a place at the table.