Date: Fri 01-Mar-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

sewers-Wendover-Sandy-Hook

Full Text:

with photo: Sandy Hook Sewer Work Delayed; Digging Starts On Wendover

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

Sanitary sewer installation on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook, which had been

scheduled to start February 26, has been postponed.

John Whitten, chief sewer inspector for Fuss and O'Neill, Inc, the town's

consulting civil engineers, said Tuesday he reconsidered the timing of

Riverside Road sewering work after discussing the matter with local officials.

Sewer installers instead began laying pipe on Wendover Road this week.

Trenching on Wendover is planned to extend from Church Hill Road toward

Schoolhouse Hill Road. Much, but not all, of Wendover Road will be sewered.

A variety of factors entered into the decision to postpone the trenching work

on Riverside Road, Mr Whitten said. These factors include: the unpredictable

weather at this time of the year; the high traffic volumes on Riverside Road,

including school bus traffic; and the need to allow emergency vehicles to pass

through the construction zone.

"There's really no good detour (at) this time of the year down there," Mr

Whitten said.

The section of Riverside Road to be sewered extends from the four-way

intersection of Riverside Road, Washington Avenue, Church Hill Road and Glen

Road eastward to the Sandy Hook Firehouse. Besides providing access to the

firehouse, the road section provides access to Sandy Hook School and the

town's multipurpose center.

"Our main concern is public safety and we've asked the contractor not to go...

there at this time," Mr Whitten said.

One consideration involved in postponing the Riverside Road work involves the

need to dig a trench 24 feet deep along one road section, requiring the use of

huge excavation equipment which occupies the road's entire width, causing a

temporary traffic closure, Mr Whitten said.

Also, asphalt plants are closed during the winter, making it impossible to

place a good temporary paved surface on Riverside Road after sewer excavation,

he said.

The best time to install sewers on Riverside Road would be the summertime, Mr

Whitten said, noting the absence of school bus traffic and the likelihood of

good weather.

Sewer contractor Mark IV Construction Company, Inc, of Bridgeport, however,

hasn't given Fuss and O'Neill a committment on when it will be able to install

the sewers beneath Riverside Road, Mr Whitten said.

Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief William Halstead said he's

concerned that during the Riverside Road sewer construction period,

firefighters will have restricted access to the firehouse and fire trucks

leaving the firehouse will have to drive through a sewer construction area.

Riverside Road sewer installation is expected to take about five weeks.

Chief Halstead said he expects that vehicular passage will be especially

difficult along a narrow section of Riverside Road near the cemetery, the

Schoolhouse Market and Deli, and Pizza Villa.

"We'll have to cope with it the best way we can," Chief Halstead said of

traffic disruptions expected on Riverside Road. Firefighters will take detours

to reach fires, when possible, and will consider the severity of the fire call

in determining which route is the best one to take to the fire call, he said.

When firefighters have definite problems in getting to the firehouse, a fire

truck will be stationed outside the sewer construction area to expedite fire

calls, he said.

After sewers are installed in Wendover Road, work crews will lay pipe in The

Boulevard, Mr Whitten said. Following that, sewer installation will be done on

Budd Drive, and along a short section of Commerce Road, just off Church Hill

Road.

The town is under a state order to rectify longstanding groundwater pollution

problems in the Borough, Sandy Hook Center, and Taunton Pond North caused by

failing septic systems. The town is building a $30.4-million sewer system to

correct the pollution problems.