August 2019
Mixmaster Route 8 bypass opens to alleviate traffic during construction
WATERBURY, CT – Walsh Construction achieved a construction milestone on the Mixmaster rehabilitation project with the opening of a temporary bypass on Route 8. The .75-mile bypass allows travelers to avoid the Mixmaster without exiting the highway. The bypass contains three bridges and carries northbound traffic around the ramps and bridges that join Route 8 and Interstate 84 and will allow Route 8 to remain open while the northbound structure is rehabilitated. The bypass was constructed in less than one year.
The Mixmaster is a series of intersecting bridges connecting Interstate 84 and Route 8 in downtown Waterbury. The Mixmaster is being rehabilitated due to deteriorating concrete decks, corroded bearings and joints, section loss in its girders and cracking in critical, non-redundant structures. Walsh Construction will repair the concrete decks and resurface them with a waterproof membrane, reinforce the concrete piers, and replace the existing metal bridge rails with a concrete parapet, and install new overhead signage.
The Mixmaster was built in the 1960s and has passed its life expectancy but is expected to extend its lifeline by more than 25 years following the repairs. The bypass will be in effect for about two years while the Mixmaster project is completed and will be deconstructed upon completion.