'So necessary.' Redding gets $6 million from state to help replace bridges destroyed by last year's flooding
CT DOT was recently awarded $17 million in grants for more than a dozen different statewide projects as part of the State Local Bridge program.
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Redding is getting a boost to help rebuild, nearly one year after floodwaters destroyed parts of Connecticut.
CT DOT was recently awarded $17 million in grants for more than a dozen different statewide projects as part of the State Local Bridge program.
Four bridges in Redding were on the list, including ones on Sport Hill Road, Greenbush Road, Brookside Road and Long Wall Road.
Three of the bridges have been closed since August.
“I was hoping we might get two bridges," First Selectwoman Julia Pemberton says. "To get all four, is an amazing feeling."
State money will cover half of the bridges' replacement costs, and the town will have to come up with the rest.
First Selectwoman Pemberton says the closed bridge on Sport Hill Road is a major priority.
"It causes a major detour for a lot of commuters, so that is the first bridge we will tackle," Pemberton says. "It’s a critical route and the public wants to know when it will be reopen."
Residents near the destroyed bridge on Brookside Road say they don't want it fixed at all.
Neighbors claim the area has gotten safer because speeding cars haven't been able to cut through.
The town says it's hoping to get more financial support from FEMA to help cover the other half of the replacement costs.
“I’m confident that the funding for Sport Hill Road will pass," Pemberton says. "It’s so necessary."
The town hopes construction will start in 2026.
