Niantic River railroad bridge gets stuck again

East Lyme — A malfunction with the Niantic River railroad bridge Sunday afternoon caused it to become stuck in a closed position, trapping commercial boats in the Niantic Bay and temporarily delaying train service.

Marc Magliari, a spokesman from Amtrak, said Sunday that maintenance crews were at the site. Amtrak was investigating the problem, which was discovered around 2 p.m., and couldn't estimate when it would be repaired.

Four trains were delayed by the problem Sunday afternoon. As of Sunday night, large boats still couldn't pass through the bridge because it was stuck in the closed position. Boats docked or moored in the Niantic River have to negotiate two bridges - the rail span and bridge carrying Route 156 - to reach the waters of the bay. The closed vertical clearance of the railroad bridge is 11.5 feet, according to Amtrak.

Capt. Greg Dubrule of the charter fishing boat Black Hawk II said he had to reroute his boat when coming back from a trip to a dock in New London when he found out about the problem with the bridge. He had to transport about 25 passengers back to their cars that were parked in Niantic.

"I'm very aggravated," Dubrule said. "This has disrupted our business. I'm going to lose thousands of dollars. I feel taken advantage of."

Dubrule said several other commercial boats were trapped in the Niantic Bay.

In July, a problem with the bridge caused it to become struck in a closed position and caused disruptions for several local fishing boats.

Amtrak has announced plans to start construction on a new bridge to replace the 102-year-old span. The new $105 million bridge - a three-span bascule-lift bridge - will be a bit higher than the existing structure.