The William F. Cribari Memorial Bridge carries Route 136 across the Saugatuck River in Saugatuck, and its future is now in dispute. In February the Connecticut Department of Transportation published its environmental assessment for the bridge, State Project 158-214. Of the options it studied, the department prefers to replace the bridge on its current alignment.
That option is also the most expensive.
| Option | Estimated cost |
|---|---|
| Replace on the same alignment, the state’s preference | $78 million to $86 million |
| Replace on a new alignment | $66 million to $73 million |
| Rehabilitate | $50 million to $55 million |
| Conserve | $49 million to $54 million |
The preferred design would carry two travel lanes, a bicycle shoulder of four to five feet and a sidewalk of five to six feet on the north side, with vertical clearance over the water of at least 16 feet 3 inches. Construction would take about three years and could begin as early as spring 2030, depending on funding. If the bridge is replaced, the state has offered the old swing span for relocation and reuse.
The purpose of this project is to address the structural and functional deficiencies of the existing bridge while accommodating safe vehicular, bicycle, pedestrian, and marine travel.
James Barrows, CTDOT project manager
The case for rehabilitation
Four Westport organizations have urged what they call adaptive rehabilitation, which would repair the bridge without raising it. The Westport Alliance for Saugatuck, Save Westport Now, the Westport Preservation Alliance and the Greens Farms Association made a joint case in March, and a petition supporting rehabilitation had passed 1,000 signatures by late February, according to an opinion piece published by 06880.
Morley Boyd of the Westport Preservation Alliance said the rehabilitation alternative “retains and respects the character and defining features” of the bridge, 06880 reported.
The state held a public hearing at Town Hall on March 19 and accepted written comments through April 17.
A town committee, without a veto
On April 9 First Selectman Kevin Christie announced a Cribari Bridge Advisory Committee. Its recommendations are not binding on the state.
“This Advisory Committee will build on the Town’s discussions with the DOT by grounding decisions in facts,” Christie said, according to Patch.
Why it matters to property
The bridge sits beside Saugatuck Center, where the town has just rezoned 14 properties for smaller-scale development and where Spinnaker Real Estate Partners is planning apartments on the former Hamlet site. A three-year construction project on one of the neighborhood’s main approaches, starting no earlier than 2030, would overlap with whatever gets built there.
For buyers in the Saugatuck and Compo areas, the practical questions are detours, the timing of any closure and whether a higher, wider bridge changes traffic on Route 136. None of those has a final answer yet. The decision rests with the state, and the town’s committee will try to influence it.
Sources
- Connecticut Department of Transportation, Environmental assessment, State Project 158-214, February 2026
- Connecticut Department of Transportation, Public hearing on rehabilitation or replacement of Cribari Memorial Bridge in Westport, Feb. 18, 2026
- Connecticut Department of Transportation, Saugatuck River swing bridge public comment, Feb. 17, 2026
- 06880, Four groups seek consensus, urge adaptive rehabilitation for Cribari Bridge, March 18, 2026
- Patch, Westport to form Cribari Bridge advisory committee, April 9, 2026
- Wikipedia, National Register of Historic Places listings in Fairfield County, Connecticut, accessed Oct. 2026
