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Officials Huddle To Launch Bypass Road Project

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

The first meeting of officials who will oversee construction of the $4 million

bypass road through Fairfield Hills took place at Edmond Town Hall this week.

The pre-construction meeting was called by Thomas Deane, transportation

supervising engineer for the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of

Engineering and Highway Operations, to iron out any problems that might be

foreseen before the project begins this spring.

Twenty-nine people, including 15 from various DOT divisions, gathered around a

large horseshoe-shaped table in the Alexandria Room for the meeting with

representatives of the contractor, Dayton Construction Company, Inc, of

Watertown. Dayton was awarded the contract on Monday based on its low bid of

$3,229,005.

State Rep Julia B. Wasserman and First Selectman Bob Cascella represented the

town at the meeting. Rep Wasserman said her primary concern was that

construction begin quickly and finish on time.

"A commitment was made to begin work this season and finish in '98 and not

extend or expand beyond that period," she said. "If you anticipate any delay

at all, please notify us."

Timothy Gaffey, DOT project manager for the bypass road, said that barring

unforeseen problems such as contaminated soil, the project should finish well

within the 575 days allowed by the contract.

"This should go quickly. It should be a good job," he said.

But Michael Osborne, who represented the Potatuck Land Company, which owns the

fish and game club property adjacent to Fairfield Hills, and officials of

Garner Correctional Institution expressed concerns about possible disruption

of the area's water supplies.

"The main wells which supply Fairfield Hills, Nunnawauk Meadows and Garner are

not next to the pump house on Mile Hill Road. They are on the club property,"

Mr Osborne explained. "The lines go under the (Pootatuck) river to the pump

house. There are two lines in there and that's something that someone should

take a close look at before any work begins."

Power to operate the pump house is supplied by the Fairfield Hills power plant

through underground lines, the location of which is also not known at this

time. Unless the original drawings which show the locations of the power lines

are found, test pits will have to be dug, officials said.

The project involves the construction of a road through the Fairfield Hills

campus, to connect Route 25 with Exit 11 of I-84 and Route 34, and

reconstruction of the narrow two-lane bridge over the Pootatuck River. It also

involves the moving of utilities belonging to Connecticut Light & Power

(CL&P), Southern New England Telephone (SNET), Charter Communications and

Yankee Gas, some of which were installed when the hospital was constructed in

the 1930s.

Alan Dayton, treasurer of Dayton Construction, said his firm plans to begin

construction of the new bridge first because of concerns about whether the

existing bridge could support the heavy equipment needed to construct the

bypass road. Alternating lanes of the bridge are scheduled to remain open for

traffic during the construction period.

According to the DOT, about 7,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day.

Mr Osborne said the DOT plans show the installation of guard rails along Mile

Hill Road which will block two entrances to the club property. Another

driveway, on the opposite side of the street, is used by a family whose

children are picked up there by a school bus.

When officials vacillated on whether to construct 10- or 12-foot-wide lanes

for the temporary bridge construction, Mr Cascella said school buses use that

route daily.

"The high school is right there," he pointed out. "Just about every high

school student has a car and drives to school. That's a very busy spot between

7 and 8 in the morning and 1:30 to 3:30 in the afternoon."

Mr Osborne said that despite the prohibition against trucks traveling through

Fairfield Hills, trucks are constantly on Mile Hill Road. "If you spend any

time at all there, you will see them," he said.

Barry Simpson, who represented SNET at the meeting, said the four utility

companies will meet within the next few weeks and work will begin about three

weeks later, probably sometime in June.

"But I don't want any misconception," Mr Keane said. "When Alan does shop

drawings that is work, not just when you (finally) see a bulldozer out there."

He said the construction schedule would be sent by fax to Mr Cascella as the

work progresses.

Representatives of the DOT's environmental division attended the meeting

because advanced erosion control measures will be used during bypass road

construction. Special contamination traps must be installed because the area

is above the Pootatuck aquifer, the area's designated sole source aquifer.

A combination of state and federal funds will cover project costs. A 1991

agreement which resolved a lawsuit filed by the town against the state over

the construction of the prison provided, in part, that the state build a

bypass road across the Fairfield Hills grounds to alleviate traffic congestion

in the town center.