Westport's Downtown-to-Compo Sidewalk Is Finishing Just as the Beach Goes Quiet

The new concrete runs along the west side of Compo Road South, from just below Post Road East down to Bridge Street. A few stretches still have work zones. Most of the rest is already in use. The Town of Westport's November 2026 infrastructure update says pedestrians are already using the finished sections, and the project is on schedule to be done by the end of November 2026.

Public Works describes it as the piece that completes a bike and pedestrian route from downtown to the train station and gives Westport a continuous route from downtown to Longshore and Compo Beach. With the finish date set for the end of November, the sidewalk's first full season will be the months when Compo is free, open to dogs, and next door to a skating rink.

Six Years of Planning, About 180 Days of Concrete

This sidewalk has been coming for a long time. The Westport Journal reported in March 2026 that the strip had been planned for about six years, and it attributed the long delay to coordination with the state. A year earlier, 06880 reported that the final design was still under state review and that construction was expected in fall 2025 or spring 2026.

The Board of Selectmen approved a $1.6 million contract with G. Pic & Sons Construction Co. On March 27, 2026, town engineer Keith Wilberg told the Westport Journal that work would start in about a month and take about 180 days. Six months of work after a spring start points to late fall, and the Town's end-of-November target matches that. A route meant to carry people to the beach is being finished after the beach season has ended.

The scope:

• Length: about 6,500 linear feet of new or rebuilt sidewalk, roughly 1.3 miles
• Side of the road: the west side of Compo Road South, replacing broken sections and filling gaps
• Funding: the state's Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program, known as LoTCIP
• Origins: the Town says the project is consistent with the goals of a 2016 Road Safety Audit of this stretch of Compo Road South

An August 2026 Westport Journal update described the route as a continuous connection from the Post Road to Compo Beach, with improved ADA access.

Where the South End Leads in November

From May 1 through September 30, Compo is a beach you pay to park at. The Town's beaches page says entrance to all Westport beaches is free and open to the public outside that window, and that Compo is open year-round. That changes the walk. A route that would have ended at a summer parking gate now ends at a free beach with plenty of room.

It also ends at a beach that has been open to dogs since October 1. 06880 marked the date on September 30 by noting that "the next 6 months belong to the dogs." The Town's dogs in our parks page sets out the rules for the season, which it lists as Oct. 1 to March 31 at Compo Beach:

1. Dogs may be off leash south of the brick bathhouses, in the signed and fenced area that includes South Beach.
2. Dogs must be leashed in parking lots, on roadways and on grass areas.
3. Dogs are never allowed in the covered pavilion, on the boardwalks, or in the area between the boardwalks and the exit road, which includes the playground and volleyball courts.

For anyone walking a dog the full length of Compo Road South, that third rule decides the route once you reach the beach.

Work at the water is also wrapping up. According to the Town's update, the Compo Ned Dimes Marina pier replacement is done, including new walkways, ramps and ADA-compliant pathways from the parking area to the docks. The only piece left is a set of custom dock-entry security gates, scheduled for delivery in the second week of November. The marina's seawall is being replaced with an armored revetment, with completion expected in December 2026. Farther along the shore, the Mill Pond tide gates and access walkways are complete. All construction equipment is out of the Old Mill Beach lot, and the whole lot is open again.

Old Mill Grocery & Deli at 222 Hillspoint Road has been dark since the end of September. Romanacci, which ran the store, said goodbye to the community at a send-off 06880 covered on September 30. The Westport Journal reports that the century-old store is owned by the nonprofit Soundview Empowerment Alliance, which is looking for a new operator.

Longshore Takes Over From the Beach Stand

The same timing shows up in food. The Town lists the Compo food concession season as May 1 to Nov. 1. This year that concession had a new operator. The Westport Journal reported in June that Nikki Glekas Collective had taken over the Compo Beach stand and was also running the Longshore Pavilion and the halfway house at Longshore Golf Club.

When the beach stand closes for the year, that crew moves up the road. The WPAL Rink at Longshore, at 260 Compo Road South, says Glekas and her Sandbar team will run the rink's concession stand for the 2026–27 season and handle food and drinks for private parties. The rink lists its projected opening day as Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving.

Once it opens, the rink will be open to the general public, with skate rentals and sharpening, and no reservations needed for public skate sessions. Because it is outdoors, the rink suggests checking the online schedule before heading over when the weather is questionable. The Town's Parks and Recreation page describes the season as running from late November through early March. That lines up closely with the dogs-on-Compo window. From late November on, both ends of the Longshore-to-Compo stretch will be set up for winter use, and the sidewalk connecting them will be new.

La Plage, also at 260 Compo Road South, was on the Westport Journal's list of October 2026 Restaurant Week participants.

The Season by Date

Most of these dates are the Town's or the rink's own projections, and the Town notes that its timelines can shift with weather, permitting or site conditions.

Back Up Toward Downtown

The north end of the sidewalk starts just below Post Road East, near Compo Acres Shopping Center. Tenants there include Trader Joe's, COBS Bread, PokeWorks, Compo Farms, Sweetgreen, Choice Pet Supply, The Winged Monkey and J.McLaughlin. From there, Post Road East leads back to downtown, where two more food openings are planned. The Westport Journal reports that Barvida's owners, Brennan Branca and Tara Rose Schreiber, plan to open at 14 Post Road East in early 2027. Westport-based PopUp Bagels has signed a lease at 178 Main Street, the former Cold Fusion Gelato space, also projecting an early-2027 opening.

PopUp Bagels is scheduled to appear before then. It is on the lineup for the sixth annual Holiday Stroll, co-sponsored by the Westport Downtown Association, on Saturday, December 5, from 4 to 7 p.m. on Main, Elm and Church streets. The program includes the Staples Orphenians, a string ensemble, a DJ, Santa Claus, face painting, a photo booth, and merchant and restaurant promotions. Because the date falls on the second night of Hanukkah, there will also be a menorah lighting with Chabad of Westport.

At the Bridge Street end, the walk continues toward Saugatuck and its restaurant row on Riverside Avenue. The October Restaurant Week list included The Boathouse at Saugatuck at 521 Riverside Ave., Rizzutto's Oyster Bar & Restaurant at 540, Viva Zapata at 530, Tutti's Ristorante at 599, and Little Pub at Dunville's at 41 Saugatuck Ave. This is the train station connection the Town's project description promised, now reachable on foot from Compo Road South.

This winter, the sidewalk can take you from a Saturday-evening menorah lighting on Main Street to a morning dog walk south of the bathhouses at Compo, with the Longshore rink in between.

A walkable route to the beach, the rink and the train is part of what a Westport home is worth, and new infrastructure like this changes how buyers see a street. If you live near Compo Road South and want to know what the finished sidewalk could mean for your property, The Ken Banks Team is glad to talk it through. Request Your Complimentary Home Valuation.