ConnDOT Plans to Replace Old Kings Hwy North Bridge Over Highway This Year

The Interstate 95 underpass at Old Kings Highway North in Darien is expected to be closed for eight days sometime this year as the Connecticut Department of Transportation replaces it, a Darien police official says.

The bridge has been repaired and refurbished in the past, but apparently never replaced, and it seems to be an original structure of the highway, dating back to when I-95 was built in the late 1950s, said Darien Police Capt. Don Anderson, who coordinates police involvement with traffic changes in town.

The Old Kings Highway North bridge over Interstate 95 in Darien may be as much as 60 years old.

The replacement bridge is expected to be constructed in place, and traffic detours will use the I-95 on ramp located next to the bridge and Exit 13. Those drivers who would normally traveling from the Post Road down Old Kings Highway North toward Norwalk might use either Tokeneke Road in Darien or Richards Avenue in Norwalk.

Workers at the Darien North rest stop, who now cut through the Parklands Office Park property to get on Old Kings Highway North and then cross the bridge to get to buses on the Post Road could be high and dry if they don’t make alternate arrangements for the eight days the bridge is expected to be out of commission.

Anderson, who has been in touch with state DOT officials and the town Department of Public Works, said the work is expected to take place during this year’s construction season, but he wasn’t sure when.

The roadway will be raised two or three feet when the new bridge is in place, Anderson said.