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Ribbon Cut On New I-95 Bridge In New Haven

NEW HAVEN (CBSNewYork) - Those travelling on I-95 in New Haven should have an easier trip starting next week, WCBS 880's Paul Murnane reported.

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Friday morning, Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and other officials cut the ribbon on the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, also known as the Q Bridge.

The bridge has been over 20 years and $2 billion in the works.

Extensive delays and detours are expected over the weekend, but by Monday morning, northbound traffic is expected to be flowing the new bridge, with southbound traffic remaining on the old bridge.

New Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge
New Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge - New Haven, CT - Jun 22, 2012 (credit: Paul Murnane / WCBS 880)

Eventually, a second new span is planned for construction.

No one was saying that I-95 would begin moving like a water slide, but officials stressed this improvement along with the addressing of bottlenecks in Stamford and Norwalk.

They also stressed that new equipment on the New Haven Line helps move the ball.

But Malloy and Blumenthal said the future of such projects is in doubt with politics at the wheel of things like the federal transportation bill.

Gov. Dan Malloy Sen. Richard Blumenthal New Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge
Gov. Dan Malloy, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, and other officials cut the ribbon on the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge - New Haven, CT - Jun 22, 2012 (credit: Paul Murnane / WCBS 880)

"They don't get it," Malloy told Murnane. "The Republicans serving in the Senate and the House have made infrastructure a partisan issue."

"Acrimony, rancor, and extreme right wing in Washington that wants government to fail," Blumenthal told Murnane.

Will this new bridge make things easier for your commute? Share your story in the comments section below.

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