Repairs On Derby Bridge Could Last Until 6 a.m. Saturday

Route 34 bridge update:

As of 3:42 p.m., Tony Spinelli reports:

Just one half of the James B. Atwater Bridge (Route 34) is in use. You should avoid it, if possible.

A supervisor at the scene said repairs could take until 6 a.m. Saturday.

Spinelli's iPhoneThere is one lane of traffic heading east and one lane of traffic heading west.

The Route 8 north exit 15 ramp from Route 8 to Route 34 is closed.

Motorists are also unable to access Route 8 north from the westbound lanes of Route 34 in Derby.

Route 8 north in Shelton heading into Derby is backed up.

Route 34 west heading into downtown Derby was heavily congested as of 5 p.m.

At 4:22 p.m. Kate Powell, spokeswoman for the Regional Water Authority sent an e‑mail saying:

South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority crews continue to work to uncover the leaking water main in Derby. 

Because the location of the failure is in a bridge area, the crews have had to dig through layers of asphalt and concrete to reach the 16-inch diameter pipe.”

The leak was isolated quickly this morning by shutting water valves on either side of it, but one of the valves that was closed is not holding tightly.”

To assess and repair the pipe, water will need to be shut down to fifteen houses in the area. Most residents in the affected area have been notified, and we are working to notify the others.”

We have trucks and personnel responding to discolored water complaints and flushing the system as necessary. Service is being maintained to most areas including Griffin Hospital.”

We still do not have a time estimate for repair. Motorists are advised to avoid the area, if possible.”

CT Transit buses are not servicing the Derby train station or the Elizabeth Street area, according to a spokesman for CT Transit.

The detour is for inbound buses and they are going Route 8 north to exit 16 turning around at the Brick house Restaurant, getting back on to Route 8 south to regular route.”

Click here for our earlier story on Friday morning’s water main break, which created this mess.

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