CT: Norwalk construction site grows for Walk Bridge replacement project as super-size equipment arrives

The massive construction site is taking shape for the Walk Bridge project, with super-size equipment on the scene along the Norwalk River.

The $1 billion multi-year project to build a new railroad bridge requires the installation of eight 12-foot drilled shafts, varying between 80 to 100 feet in depth, according to a Facebook post from the state Department of Transportation on Oct. 9.

Due to the size of the drilled shafts and the site's soil conditions, an oscillator has arrived on site to do the work, DOT said. It exerts a twisting, rotational force on the steel casing that allows the casing to be installed vertically into the ground to the needed depths. The oscillator's force can push through the dense layers of soil and underground obstructions, ensuring an efficient installation while minimizing the impact of the vibration on the surrounding community, DOT said.

The oscillator is 21 feet by 41 feet, "weighing 250,000 pounds — the equivalent of four fully loaded concrete trucks or 21 elephants," the DOT said.

Further progress on the project can be seen with the arrival of the additional equipment along with the construction areas at work platforms/trestles at each of the four "corners" of the Walk Bridge.

The current four-track Walk Bridge, which carries Amtrak, Metro-North Railroad and Shoreline East trains over the Norwalk River, was built in 1896 and is considered obsolete. About 125,000 passengers and 175 trains traveled over the bridge daily before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last decade or more, the bridge has failed dozens of times to "swing" properly between allowing rail travel to go across it and nautical traffic to go in and out of Norwalk Harbor. After the bridge failed twice in a two weeks in May and June 2014, DOT decided it was time to replace the structure.

After nearly a decade of work to do plans and secure state and federal funding, the Walk Bridge Replacement project broke ground in 2023, with the demolition of the Maritime Aquarium's IMAX theater beginning that March to make space for the project site.

The Walk Bridge replacement project is anticipated to be completed by 2029, according to DOT.

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