Gov. Dannel P. Malloy today announced that the southbound side of the new Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge on I-95 in New Haven – known as the Q Bridge – is scheduled to open approximately eight months ahead of schedule.

Construction of the main span bridge was completed in July 2015 on schedule and on budget. Four lanes of the new southbound bridge are scheduled to open to vehicles the week of Sept. 28, providing relief for tens of thousands of residents who face congestion in the corridor.

The expansion is expected to enhance the region’s overall economic competitiveness.

The new bridge, which carries traffic over the Quinnipiac River, is the central component of the 18-year, nearly $2 billion I-95 New Haven Harbor Crossing Corridor Improvement Program – by far the largest and most comprehensive program ever undertaken by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT).

Constructed in the late 1950s, the original bridge has been among the most heavily traveled segments of the northeast corridor between New York and Boston. It currently accommodates traffic volumes in excess of 120,000 vehicles per day – more than three times the 40,000 vehicles per day for which the original bridge was designed. When it is fully open, the new bridge will serve more than 140,000 vehicles per day.