Heavy traffic and harsh New England weather had taken their toll on the original Moses Wheeler Bridge. It had been rated as 'structurally deficient' during recent inspections, with accelerating deterioration of the structural steel and the fracture critical pin and hanger assemblies being of particular concern; the latter problem gained increased attention due to the collapse of the similar-in-design Mianus River Bridge further west in Greenwich in 1983. The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CONNDOT) began drawing up plans to replace the bridge in 1996. Originally CONNDOT planned to construct the new bridge to the south of the existing one, away from 115 kilovolt high tension wires that run atop the nearby Metro-North Railroad Drawridge. Stratford residents and officials demanded the new bridge be built to the north of the existing span, closer to the Metro-North bridge and the power lines. A compromise was reached where the new bridge will use approximately the same alignment as the original one. To make this possible, the new bridge was built substantially wider than the old one, which will also allow a future expansion with restriping of the travel lanes. The project was completed in three stages: the first two stages consisted of constructing the outer parts of the new bridge that carry the two outer lanes and the outer shoulder, while three lanes of traffic were maintained on the existing bridge. During the final stage of construction, three lanes of traffic were shifted to the new outer spans, to allow crews to demolish the original span and complete the center portion of the new bridge.
