Date: Fri 21-Mar-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

bypass-FHH-Dayton-DOT

Full Text:

Watertown Firm Is Low Bidder For Bypass Road

B Y A NDREW G OROSKO

The apparent low bidder for construction of the Fairfield Hills bypass road is

Dayton Construction Company, Inc, of Watertown, which has submitted a bid of

$3.2 million.

The state Department of Transportation (DOT) opened bids on the long-awaited

project last week.

Nineteen firms obtained bid specifications for the project. Of that number, 13

companies submitted bids, with Dayton the low bidder at $3,229,005.

The high bidder on the project was Waters Construction Company, Inc, of

Bridgeport at $4,618,034.

The second lowest bidder was L.G. DeFelice, Inc, of North Haven at $3,345,573.

The third lowest bidder was John J. Brennan Construction Company, Inc, of

Shelton at $3,482,969.

Tim Gaffey, DOT's project manager for the bypass road, said Tuesday there was

much interest in the project among construction companies, as shown by the

large number of bids submitted for the project.

Dave Perreira, a DOT bidding official, said that provided that the lowest

bidder on a construction project meets DOT requirements, it will typically be

awarded the work.

The DOT usually takes 60 days to award construction bids, but because DOT is

expediting the bypass road project, the bid will be awarded sooner, probably

by April 1.

The DOT recently filed design plans for the road with the town clerk's office.

The overall price of the bypass road project is estimated at $4 million,

including construction and design costs.

The bypass road, an east-west connector, is intended to alleviate traffic

congestion in the town center. The bypass road will provide improved access

for motorists between Route 25, Interstate 84, and Route 34.

Construction work is expected to start in May or June.

The project is planned for completion by the end of the 1998 construction

season. Initial work will involve moving utility poles on the site to make way

for the new road.

Advanced erosion control measures will be used during bypass road

construction. Special contamination traps will be installed because the area

is above the Pootatuck aquifer. The bypass road project is environmentally

significant because it is unusual to build a major connector road in a place

containing an area's designated sole source aquifer.

A new bridge to cross the Pootatuck River will be built in stages, requiring

the need for a temporary traffic signal to regulate alternating one-way

traffic flow.

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

road will "bypass" the core campus of Fairfield Hills. The road will link the

intersection of Mile Hill Road South and Mile Hill Road to the area where Mile

Hill Road intersects with Oakview Road.

A 1991 agreement, which resolved a lawsuit filed by the town against the state

over the state's construction of Garner Correctional Institution, provided, in

part, that the state build a bypass road across the Fairfield Hills grounds to

alleviate traffic congestion in the town center.