On Monday, June 15, the Connecticut-Long Island Initiative (CTLII) hosted a press conference to talk about a future bridge across the Long Island Sound. The CT-LII’s proposed bridge, which was designed by housing developer Stephen Shapiro, would have a mile-long underwater tunnel on each side of the corridor that would lead to artificial islands, and a 12-mile bridge connecting the islands. It would connect Bridgeport to the Sunken Meadow Parkway on Long Island.
If it is built, the bridge would provide another route for people to travel from Connecticut to the city, and vice versa. Currently, there are two ferry routes between Connecticut and Long Island that can each carry a few hundred people a day. Most of the travel between Long Island and Connecticut happens around New York City; Around 400,000 people travel across the Queens-Bronx Parkway every single day.
“I-95… is one of the central economic arteries of Connecticut and the Northeast as a whole. When that artery is strained, the consequences reach our households, our employers, our ports, our municipal roads,” said Anthony Afriyie, the chairman of the Stratford Town Council. “Connecticut is already formally examining congestion and mobility challenges along this corridor. A connection across Long Island Sound may not solve every transportation problem, no responsible person should assume or claim otherwise, but a serious study can determine whether it can redirect a meaningful share of passenger transportation and traffic, complement our rail and ferry systems, and improve regional mobility and reduce some of the pressures placed on I-95.”…