Borough closing eastbound lane of bridge to finish project

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The eastbound lane of the Whittemore Bridge in Naugatuck will be closed to traffic during April and May to complete the bridge reconstruction project. –FILE PHOTO

NAUGATUCK — The eastbound lane of the Whittemore Bridge will be closed to traffic during April and May to complete the bridge reconstruction project.

The borough started reconstructing the bridge, which spans the Naugatuck River along Maple Street, in June 2016. When the work started, the bridge became one-way road for cars entering downtown. In January, the borough reopened the bridge to two-way traffic with the anticipation that it would revert to one-way for a time to complete the work.

The bridge is scheduled to reopen to two-way traffic permanently at the end of May. The westbound lane will remain open during April and May.

Once the project is finished the bridge will look like it did before the Flood of 1955 destroyed it. The original bridge was constructed in 1912 to honor businessman and philanthropist John H. Whittemore.