With the Jesup Road Bridge Out, Two Short Streets Carry Downtown Westport

The Jesup Road bridge at Imperial Avenue has been closed since September 14. The flash flood on September 13 dislodged the rocks under it. The Town has closed it to vehicles and to pedestrians. The closed span sits on Jesup Road between Imperial Avenue and Bay Street. That stretch led to the Westport Library, the Police Department, Westport Emergency Medical Services, Westport Volunteer Emergency Medical Service, and the Levitt Pavilion.

Public Works Director Larry Roberts expects a replacement to take 12 to 18 months and calls that "just an estimate right now." Until then, the town's civic block has only one way in by car, and it runs from Post Road East through two short one-way streets that were never built to carry it. The Westport-Weston Chamber of Commerce's Restaurant Week opened today and runs through October 18, so the busiest stretch of the fall calendar now passes through that same small corner of downtown.

Why a Patch Was Never on the Table

The first reports after the flood treated a repair as possible. By September 23, the Town said the bridge had to be replaced. Roberts told three Representative Town Meeting committees on September 29 that the 1952 structure is beyond saving:

"In several areas, all structural integrity for the bridge has been removed. The bridge is damaged beyond repair."

He also said the damage could have been worse. The tide was out when the storm hit, which "helped but didn't help enough." Police have put Jersey barriers across the span. Roberts has said the bridge may be torn down ahead of schedule so that no one tries to cross it.

The replacement will be bigger than the bridge it replaces. Roberts says the old one was too small for the storms Westport now gets. The Town's September 30 announcement describes the new bridge as built for "the larger storm events and hydraulic conditions we are experiencing today." It will also have to fit its surroundings. RTM Public Works member Peter Gold noted that the site is in the Jesup Road Historic District. Roberts said he wants "an appearance that fits nicely into this neighborhood."

A temporary prefabricated bridge, like the one installed in Oxford after the August 2024 storms, is "still on the table," according to Roberts. Space is the problem here. Imperial Avenue is only 15 feet from the damaged bridge, and a temporary span would have to go up and over it. The Town is still weighing whether a temporary bridge would be a sensible use of money.

Bay Street In, Taylor Place Out

Because the bridge is gone, the street map itself sets the route. The Town's September 30 update does not name a detour. It says the Town is watching traffic and considering changes. That leaves two streets.

Bay Street is a short one-way road from Post Road East to Jesup Road, past Design Within Reach and the Cake Box. Cars park on both sides of it.

Taylor Place is even shorter. It is also one-way and links the lower library lot at the foot of Jesup Green with Post Road, between Tonic & Green and Tiffany.

From Post Road East, then, a driver heading to the Library goes in by Bay Street and leaves by Taylor Place. The streets point that way, but no sign or official notice says so. One 06880 reader described reaching the Library through the parking lot behind Harding Funeral Home and down Bay Street.

Several ideas for these streets are now in public discussion:

1. Make Bay Street two-way and remove its curbside parking. RTM Transit committee member Richard Lowenstein said Bay Street "has to be addressed or make it two-way." 06880 suggested the same thing, and so did several residents who came up with it on their own.
2. Make Taylor Place two-way, or split it into one lane for left turns and straight traffic and another for right turns. Either way, a few 15-minute spaces and a delivery zone would go.
3. Remove the stop signs on Imperial Avenue at Jesup Road, since no cross traffic will come off the bridge for at least a year. One commenter warned that taking them down could make the crosswalk there less safe.
4. Put up prominent signs downtown. RTM Finance member Nancy Kail said "prominent signage would be really, really helpful."

As of today, none of these has been adopted. Roberts said the Town is working with police on Bay Street and Taylor Place and expects to make "some decisions on that in the near future." No reporting so far says whether Taylor Place is wide enough for two-way traffic. An RTM member raised that question in September.

For emergency calls, the Town's tests are reassuring. EMS Chief Patrick Riddle ran test routes under emergency conditions. For calls on Imperial Avenue south of the bridge, the detour adds about 30 seconds and at most one minute. For calls south of Jesup Road and east of Imperial, the tests found no measurable difference. The two EMS services answer about 2,400 calls a year from the Police Department property. Police said they knew of no plan to move them while the bridge is out.

An October Calendar Routed Through the Same Corner

The Chamber's Restaurant Week is two weeks long this year, October 4 through 18, with 21 venues. The Bridge at Saugatuck joined the night before it opened, according to Chamber executive director Matthew Mandell. The full list is Boathouse, Dandelion, Blu Olive, Felice, Finalmente, Frank Pepe's, Gray Goose, Kawa Ni, La Plage, Little Pub @ Dunville's, Rive Bistro, Rizzuto's, Romanacci, Spotted Horse Tavern, Tarantino, The Bridge at Saugatuck, Tutti's, Viva Zapata, Yuzu Sushi, Walrus Alley, and Zucca Gastropub. Felice, Frank Pepe's, and Yuzu have all opened since last year's event. Felice is at 38 Main Street and Yuzu Sushi is at 43 Main Street, a short walk from both side streets. Frank Pepe's is across the river at 361 Post Road West. Felice's prix fixe is a three-course dinner for $40, Sunday through Friday, and a two-course weekday lunch for $25. La Plage has reopened recently, with its water views back.

Some of downtown's changes this fall are on the Post Road side. Sea Bags opened a three-month holiday pop-up at 19 Church Lane, Unit 1B, on October 2. It sells bags and accessories made from reclaimed sailcloth.

The Walk Bike Westport event this month has an awkward name for the moment. Last fall's "Bridge to Bridge" walk began at Jesup Green, crossed the Ruth Steinkraus Cohen Bridge, passed the Cribari Bridge, and finished with breakfast at Kneads in Saugatuck. This year it is a bike ride on Sunday, October 18. It starts at 3:30 p.m. with a bike safety talk, followed by a three-mile ride to Saugatuck and back. Riders 8 and up are welcome, and helmets are required. The 06880 announcement does not say where this year's ride starts. Riders should check the registration page at Walk Bike Westport before heading toward Jesup Green.

The Playhouse premiere of Ken Ludwig's play is directed by Emily Mann.

The Dates That Set the Next Year and a Half

The Bay Street and Taylor Place decision affects what downtown feels like this month. A short list of dates decides how long the arrangement lasts.

The $172,500 includes a 15 percent contingency. The Transit, Finance, and Public Works committees together voted 19-0 to recommend it, on the condition that the Board of Finance approves. Roberts said it covers about 60 percent of the design and permitting work. Comparable bridges have cost between $3 million and $3.5 million to build. State and federal money is expected to pay for much of that, possibly all of it. The Town is working with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection on emergency or expedited permitting, so that permit requirements shape the engineering from the start. The Jesup Road project will run at the same time as the replacement of the Greens Farms bridge over Sasco Creek.

"Replacing a bridge is never a quick or easy task," Roberts told the committees. The Town's storm recovery page has updates on design, permitting, interim access, and funding as they are released.

If you own a home near Jesup Road, Bay Street, or Imperial Avenue and want to know how a long construction period could affect showings, access, or timing, Elizabeth Altobelli can give you a calm, specific read on your property. Request a complimentary home valuation, and we will factor the bridge schedule into the plan.