Stonington — First Selectman Rob Simmons has announced that in cooperation with the Town of Westerly, the town has completed $80,000 in repairs to the Stillman Avenue bridge that allow large firetrucks such as ladder trucks to once again cross the span.

In October 2016, the weight limit on the small bridge that spans Pawcatuck and downtown Westerly was lowered from 47.7 tons to 20 tons after a Connecticut Department of Transportation inspection found the bridge to be in “serious condition" and in need of repair.

The weight limit was reduced while the two towns decided how to proceed.

While the majority of the cost of a multimillion-dollar replacement of the bridge would have been funded by Connecticut and Rhode Island, Simmons said the design, permitting and construction of such a project would have taken five years, during which time the weight restriction would have remained in place. That would have stopped some large firetrucks from using the bridge to cross between the two communities during that extended time, forcing them to use the White Rock or Pawcatuck River bridges and possibly delaying their response.

The two towns instead agreed to split the cost of the project, which allowed the weight limit to be restored after six weeks of work to reinforce I-beams and replace stabilizing components. Simmons said the project will retain the 47.7-ton weight limit for an estimated eight years, giving the two towns the time to plan the design and permitting of the bridge’s eventual replacement.

Simmons pointed out that the project was in stark contrast to the White Rock Bridge, which was once closed for seven years after the two towns could not agree on how to address the deteriorating span.

Simmons appeared before the Westerly Town Council on Monday night to discuss the completion of the Stilllman Avenue bridge work and to praise the cooperation of the two towns on the project.

j.wojtas@theday.com