11/16/2025
'We've been waiting for too long': Bridgeport optimistic about Congress Street Bridge replacement
By Brian Lockhart, Staff Writer
Nov 15, 2025
Congressman Jim Himes speaks at a press conference near the Congress Street bridge, in Bridgeport, Conn. Monday March 8th, 2010. Demolition is set to begin on the drawbridge over the Pequonnock River, which has been stuck open for years. Ned Gerard / ST
BRIDGEPORT — Nearly a year after federal lawmakers tossed a $24.6 million lifeline to the troubled Congress Street Bridge rebuild, officials this week said that despite no visible work, the project is slowly progressing behind the scenes.
"We feel good," said Thomas Gaudett, Democratic Mayor Joe Ganim's chief administrative officer. "There's a lot of boxes that need to be checked procedurally, but there are no hurdles in our way at this point we can see."
But he indicated an actual groundbreaking is months away — a too familiar refrain to proponents of the bridge's return given prior such timeframes have turned into years.
"I'd love to see some (construction) equipment there ... maybe in the next year or so, so people can begin to have faith the bridge is really coming," said City Council President Aidee Nieves, whose East Side district lost its direct route over the Pequonnock River to downtown when the original span became inoperable 28 years ago.
There were some initial concerns and confusion about whether the $24.6 million in federal aid, announced last January in the final days of Democratic U.S. President Joseph Biden's administration, had been eliminated when Republican Donald Trump returned to the White House later that month.
The Trump administration and then-ally billionaire Elon Musk began controversially cutting all sorts of spending, including a long-gestating flooding prevention program designed for Bridgeport's South End.
"When the new administration came in, there was (worry), 'Did we lose the money? Did we get the money?'" recalled Nieves.
"You never know with President Trump," agreed her council partner on the East Side, Maria Valle.
State Rep. Christopher Rosario, D-Bridgeport, also of the East Side thought the $24.6 million was in limbo.
But Gaudett said the Ganim administration has been in regular communication with federal transportation officials finalizing the contract necessary for the $24.6 million to be released so the city can hire contractors.
"Everyone is actively working toward making it happen," Gaudett said. "We can't put the specifications (bridge design) out to bid until we've secured an executed contract with the federal highway administration."
He said it's expected to take months but isn't sure how long.
A spokesperson for the highway administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment. However U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th, who since his election in 2008 has pledged to get the Congress Street span reopened, this week said the $24.6 million remains available.
Years of delays contributed to the doubling of the replacement bridge's initial $24 million price tag, resulting in the city applying for the federal aid.
Might another few years result in another financial setback?
"We're always racing against inflation on this thing," Himes said. "I would characterize myself as adamant this needs to get done soon."
The original span — a drawbridge — over the Pequonnock River broke in 1997 during Ganim's first administration, which ran from 1991 until 2003. He waged a successful comeback in 2015 and has since sought to make restoring the infrastructure a priority. It has been an exceedingly slow process for various reasons.
In 2010 then-Mayor Bill Finch had the old structure torn down to eventually make way for a new one. City officials determined it would be cheaper to install a fixed bridge. But that resulted in a lengthy state and federal permitting process, including determining whether a moveable structure was still necessary to accommodate boat traffic along the Pequonnock.
In 2019, Ganim announced the state would help Bridgeport split the then-$24 million cost. Construction was supposed to start in 2020.
But that never happened because of several factors: the COVID-19 pandemic that struck Connecticut that year; the permitting process which concluded in fall 2022; and last-minute objections from a few property owners along the river who still wanted a drawbridge.
And then in 2022 when the Ganim administration sought construction bids it was relying on the old cost estimate despite the spike in inflation that followed the pandemic. Four contractors responded with new amounts of $42.55 million, $48.04 million, $56.93 million and $57.63 million.
"Inflation is obviously a risk," Gaudett said of the time that has elapsed since the $24.6 million was announced last January. But he believes part of the issue in 2022 was that bidders had a lot of questions about the project, resulting in higher cost estimations to help cover "perceived risks."
Having gone through that experience, Gaudett said, the Ganim administration when it next advertises for contractors should be able to offer a more detailed design that offers far less uncertainty and will also attempt to "value engineer" the plan to trim some costs.
"The state remains committed to providing $12 million for this project," said Josh Morgan, communications director for the Connecticut Department of Transportation. "Our understanding is this project is moving forward (and) the city informed us they were working through the federal requirements."
There is one possible additional wrinkle. Earlier this month Bridgeport City Council passed a resolution responding to Trump's aggressive mission to deport all undocumented immigrants using often-masked federal agents. The council's mostly symbolic document was aimed at condemning some of those activities while also restricting city officials' cooperation.
Ahead of the vote, municipal attorney Tyisha Toms, who runs Bridgeport's law department, warned the city could face retaliation from Trump. She issued a memorandum outlining some of her concerns. Among those she specified now standard language under Trump for federal grants requires recipients "cooperate with federal officials in the enforcement of federal law, including cooperating with and not impeding U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement."
But Gaudett noted the resolution the council approved threads the needle with language emphasizing that it is consistent with state and federal law. He does not anticipate an issue.
Rosario is eager for the bridge replacement to finally move forward.
"We need to get really serious progress on the Congress Street Bridge," he said. "It's way long overdue."
"We've been waiting for too long," said Valle.
Nov 15, 2025
Brian Lockhart
Reporter
Brian Lockhart is a reporter with the Connecticut Post, covering politics and policy. He also has covered politics for the Stamford Advocate and the city of Norwalk for The Norwalk Hour.
