The centerpiece of the project is the replacement of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge, which carries Interstate 95 over the Quinnipiac River.

In October 1989, the state of Connecticut initiated a study to evaluate a 7.2-mile stretch of Interstate 95 between West Haven and Branford.

This was followed by a January 1992 draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) outlining several options, which ranged from simply widening I-95 to building a light rail line to parallel I-95.

Residents and officials criticized the original plan, which caused the state to go back to the drawing board.

Contract E1 involved the construction of earthworks that support the western abutment of the new bridge and carry the new ramps to I-91 and Route 34.

DeFelice Construction was originally awarded the $14 million contract, but the company went out of business midway through the project.

Contract E2 involved building the flyover bridge that carries the new ramp from I-95 northbound to Route 34 and added a transition lane to I-95 in each direction through Long Wharf.

A second contract was let on June 1, 2007, to relocate two 42-inch (1.06 meter) diameter sanitary sewer lines that lie directly beneath where part of the new bridge will be built.

[3] The contract was awarded to a joint venture between the Middlesex Company and Pittsfield, Maine-based Cianbro Corporation in April 2008.

Contract B was awarded to a joint venture between Walsh Construction of Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado-based PCL Constructors for $417 million in July 2009.

The first phase of this project was included in the New Haven Harbor Crossing Improvement Program, let on February 1, 2013, and completed on July 10, 2015.

Plans for reconstructing and widening this section features full left and right-hand shoulders, and contains provisions for a future expansion to eight lanes.