ROTHA Contracting, Avon, Conn., is the lead contractor of the rehabilitation of the Putnam Memorial bridge in Wethersfield and Glastonbury, Conn., that started on March 16, 2026, and is slated to be completed by Nov. 3, 2028, according to CTDOT.

"The purpose of the project is to increase the load rating factor for all legal, permit and emergency vehicles through strengthening and bracing of the existing structural steel," said CTDOT. "The project will also include deck patching and new wearing surface installation, drainage repairs, inspection catwalk removal, substructure concrete repairs and full painting of the bridge."

The cost of the project is $48 million, which will be paid by 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent state funds.

"We just started in the middle of March," said Ryan Hawkins, ROTHA Contracting project manager. "We have constructed access roads on the east and west approaches under the bridge. We have also prepped some staging areas adjacent to the bridge. We installed E&S control, construction signs. We also installed VMS signs to post the bridge for a 20-ton weight limit during construction. Our painting subcontractor started mobilizing this week and will start installing safe span platforms starting next week."

Over the next couple of months ROTHA's painting subcontractor will install safe span platforms under the entire bridge. This allows ROTHA to access and perform the steel strengthening. The initial temporary platforms will be smaller in size to reduce loading on the bridge until the steel strengthening is completed. Once that is done, the painters will install a full-width platform and containment to blast and paint the entire steel superstructure.

"Generally, 2026 will be temporary platforms and steel strengthening repairs, and 2027 and 2028 will be steel repairs, blasting/painting, deck patching, scupper replacement, joint repairs and PPC overlay," said Hawkins. "Basically, year one is mostly underside steel repairs, then year two and three will be both underside repairs and deck patching."

The construction equipment used for the project includes a Volvo EW160 excavator and a Volvo L60H loader, a JCB articulated truck, a Dynapac CA2500 roller, JLG 860SJ and 660SJ manlifts, a Zim mixer for deck patching and the bridge deck will be overlaid with a PPC (polyester polymer concrete) overload. CEG