UPDATED: Mystic River drawbridge closure postponed

A closure of the Mystic River drawbridge scheduled for Thursday has been postponed indefinitely because of this week's storm.

The planned 54-hour closure of the drawbridge will be rescheduled at a date to be announced, according to the state Department of Transportation.

The bridge was expected to close today but the project was postponed because of the hurricane.

The closure is needed to install a safety barrier on the span that will prevent cars from driving off the open bridge into the water from the Stonington side if they bypass the safety gates.

The closure is the first of two that will be needed in the last season of the rehabilitation project, which is
scheduled to be completed in April.

Earlier, officials considered postponing the closing for a week, but that plan has been abandoned.

When the closure does occur, Stonington police said that through traffic will be detoured from Route 1, which spans the bridge, to Interstate 95 along Allyn Street in Groton and Route 27 in Stonington.

Traffic signs and other devices will be used to warn motorists of the bridge closure and guide them along the detour route.