The State Bond Commission has approved $3 million in funding to repair the Norwalk rail bridge that malfunctioned twice this spring, sending the nation’s busiest commuter rail corridor into disarray.
The $3 million in repairs on the 118-year-old Walk Bridge will allow the mechanisms to open and close automatically to let water traffic through and close completely to allow the trains on the New Haven Line to cross the Norwalk River.
Connecticut has applied for $360 million in Federal Transit Administration funding to replace the bridge completely, but the results of that applications won’t be known until the fall. The $3 million repairs are meant as a short-term fix.
The bridge got locked into the open position on May 29 and again on June 6, leading the U.S. Coast Guard to label the bridge as inoperable, forcing the need for the short-term repairs.
