There may be a newly expanded roadway in the City of Bridgeport in the next few years, according to one city official.
At the December meeting of The Bridge Advisory Committee, Droo Callahan briefed those gathered on things that are being looked at for the future as part of his report. The general manager of The Bridge mentioned the possibility of extending Forrester Boulevard from where it currently dead ends in the facility’s parking lot.
“Looking at the master plan, the goal is to extend it to (State Route) 279,” said Callahan. “It would be a bit of an undertaking, but it is something all involved would like to see happen.”
Part of the reason Callahan said it would be beneficial is that it would provide some direct access to Route 279, or Jerry Dove Drive. Currently, there is one access point to the facility off State Route 131, which was recently paved and the target of a multi-million-dollar state upgrade in the future. Callahan also said the master plan calls for looking at access to another access point to 131 in the future as well.
“The good news is that the interested parties, I believe, are in this together,” said Callahan. “Whether it’s us, the city, Charles Pointe, we’ll be looking at this and will hopefully establish a timeline to make sure it happens.”
Callahan said the hope is to tie it into the ongoing three-phase upgrade to Route 279 which is going from United Hospital Center to the intersection of Route 50. The first phase is nearly completed from UHC to just past the entrance to the new Menards.
“There’s a much larger plan that will be executed over the next several years involving several projects,” said Callahan. “We’re aware of that and hope to tie in.”
Callahan said the goal is for the roadway to be a two-lane road – one in each direction – to improve access directly to and from the facility.