Date: Fri 25-Apr-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Railroad-bridge-Church-Hill

Full Text:

Railroad Bridge Replacement Now In Doubt

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

One year ago, on April 26, 1996, representatives of the state Department of

Transportation conducted a public informational meeting in Newtown on the

state's plans for the replacement of the railroad bridge over Church Hill

Road.

The DOT representatives - Tim Gaffey, the project manager; Keith Hall, the

bridge designer; and engineers Tony Wamuo and Mike Marzi - brought a

computer-generated photo of what the new $2.5 million bridge was expected to

look like and preliminary drawings showing construction plans.

At the time, Mr Gaffey said that if everything proceeded as planned, the

bridge design would be completed in July, 1996, the project would go out to

bid in December, 1996, and the construction would begin in spring 1997.

Instead, the project is on hold - and may not even be done, Mr Gaffey said

this week.

"The Danbury Terminal Railroad hasn't finished its track relocation plans but

we were informed that relocating a mile and a half of track would cost nearly

$1 million, rather than the $200,000 or so which we originally anticipated,"

he said. "At the same time, we did some testing of the existing abutments and

footings and the results have been leading us to the conclusion that we may

not be able to use them (to support) the temporary track."

The DOT briefly looked again at the possibility of lowering the road under the

bridge but has ruled that out, he said.

"So we're back to the choice of replacing the bridge or walking away from it,"

he said.

DOT had taken on the project to facilitate truck traffic on Church Hill Road

because it is a state highway, Route 6. Most tractor-trailer trucks are unable

to pass beneath the bridge, which stretches across the road just 12'7" above

the pavement.

"If enough traffic is siphoned off by the new bypass road through Fairfield

Hills, then a new railroad bridge might not be needed," Mr Gaffey said.

About 10,000 to 12,000 vehicles go under the railroad bridge on a typical day,

according to the DOT.

Even if the DOT does decide to proceed with the bridge, construction wouldn't

begin before next year, Mr Gaffey said.

"Certainly we wouldn't start work on the (railroad) bridge until the bypass

road is almost completed," he said. "We wouldn't want to choke off traffic on

the only two east-west roads through the center of town."

The bridge project was to be funded 90 percent by the federal government and

20 percent by the state. But Mr Gaffey said recent changes in federal programs

have raised questions about whether the money will be available.

"It doesn't look good," he said.

Mr Gaffey said he is trying to set up a meeting involving representatives of

various DOT departments - structural engineers, soils specialists, highway

designers and bridge designers - to talk about the status of the project and

the results of the tests of the abutments and footings.

Although the DOT has said that one-lane traffic will be preserved through

Fairfield Hills while work progresses on the bypass road, traffic has been

diverted off Mile Hill Road during non-rush hours during the past two weeks to

allow gas company workmen to install new pipes which cross under the road.

Dayton Construction Company of Watertown also has been on the scene setting

out surveying flags. According to the contract, the company has 18 months to

construct the 1.3 miles of new roadway and reconstruct the bridge over the

Pootatuck River.

Mr Gaffey said he was unaware that traffic has been detoured off Mile Hill

South.

"That's something which is being done by the utility companies, not by the

DOT," he said.