Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge deck that saved money but was unpopular with drivers. A toll plaza stood at the eastern end of the Sikorsky Bridge until Connecticut abolished tolls in 1988. The toll booth is now preserved in Stratford at the Boothe Memorial Park and Museum. The Sikorsky Bridge is named after aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky, whose helicopter factory is located along the riverfront immediately north of the bridge. After years of environmental studies, the Connecticut Department of Transportation awarded an $87 million contract to Balfour Beatty Construction to build the replacement bridge, the Igor I. Sikorsky Memorial Bridge, in 2000. The southern half
Igor Sikorsky war-torn Europe, and particularly Russia, ravaged by the October Revolution and Civil War, he immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York on March 30, 1919. In the U.S., Sikorsky first worked as a school teacher and a lecturer, while looking for an opportunity to work in the aviation industry. In 1932, he joined the faculty of the University of Rhode Island to form an aeronautical engineering program and remained with the university until 1948. He also lectured at the University of Bridgeport. In 1923, Sikorsky formed the Sikorsky Manufacturing Company in Roosevelt, New York. He was helped by