Preston - Thousands of drivers regularly travel over the Hewitt Brook bridge on Route 2, between Mattern and Maynard Hill roads, without noticing it.

Come the spring of 2016, drivers won't soon forget about the small bridge.

The state Department of Transportation is planning a $1.3 million federally funded project to replace the existing bridge, built in 1961, starting in spring of 2016 and running into the fall.

DOT officials will host a public informational meeting on the project for residents, businesses commuters and town officials at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Preston Town Hall, 389 Route 2. Plans for the project are on file at the Preston selectmen's office at Town Hall.

The project calls for two stages of construction to provide for one lane of traffic in each direction during construction, with temporary easements possibly necessary from adjacent property owners.

Town officials had planned to meet with project engineers to discuss traffic and safety concerns, but the meeting was canceled because of bad weather, Preston Fire Chief Thomas Casey said.

Safety is the biggest concern, Casey said. He said DOT officials promised that if alternating one-lane traffic controlled by a traffic light is imposed during construction, emergency responders would be given controls to operate the light.

"At this point, we're going to wait to get more information about it at the meeting," Casey said. "I think if we can control the traffic so emergency vehicles can get through, that would be good."

One of Casey's biggest questions for DOT engineers will be whether the project might require total road closures at some point.

The bridge is located in a spot where there are no convenient detours to get traffic back onto Route 2 in either direction. Route 2A-117 is a short distance to the west of the project, and Route 164 is to the east of the project. But the nearby side roads do not connect to these routes or to other roads that wind back to Route 2.

The project will take place during the busiest months of the year, when summer traffic heading to Westerly beaches and Foxwoods Resort Casino dominate the roadway.

During the project, which will include installing a pre-fabricated, three-sided concrete frame over the brook, crews will install a temporary dam to divert the brook through a temporary pipe to be threaded through the existing pipe that now carries the brook beneath the road.

When the project is finished, natural streambed material will be installed prior to reconstructing the roadway.

c.bessette@theday.com

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