Bridgeport Parks and Recreation wants to remind the community and others who travel through the city that they will be starting holiday decorations on the roadway corridors beginning on today (Friday, Nov. 9).

 

The staff will begin along Meadowbrook Mall’s entrance and exit roadway. Workers will be placing decorations on light poles and it will result in lane closures for a portion of the day on Friday. There will also be a Bridgeport Police officer helping to monitor traffic.

 

Beginning Monday, crews will begin the same process on Main Street. There are a few areas where those working will need to be in the roadway and, thus, have to shut down traffic to a single lane. Parks and Recreation Director Joe Shuttleworth said those instances will be limited and there will be traffic control to help alleviate some of the sting.

 

“We apologize for any inconvenience and we want people to be aware of what they’ll be seeing in the days and weeks ahead,” said Shuttleworth. “The huge upside is that when everything is in place there’s a great look to the downtown. The downside is that it creates a minor inconvenience. In the end, it’s important to do it correctly to give our community and those traveling through it a beautiful downtown as well as other areas and at the same time keep our workers safe.”

 

Shuttleworth said the process to get all of the decorations up, factoring in the possibility of bad weather, runs up to three weeks, but most of the issues with delays should not take that long. The decorations include putting up the City of Bridgeport Christmas tree and decorating the Benedum Civic Center, the bus stop, the Bridgeport Public Library and the Main Street Fire Station.

 

“It’s a major undertaking. We have 80-plus light poles alone that have to be decorated and that’s just one of the bigger components involved,” said Shuttleworth.

 

One of the main questions Shuttleworth said he receives when the work starts is why the city begins in early November. He said it’s simple.

 

“You add in the weather factor, the holidays this month and that you have Light Up Night and the Christmas Parade less than a month away and you can see why we start now,” said Shuttleworth. “It’s always a big task, but when it’s done it’s always worth the effort.”

 

Light Up Night is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 29. The Bridgeport Christmas Parade is set for Saturday, Dec. 1.