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PAGE ONE: State Plans To Raise And Widen Church Hill Rd Railroad Bridge

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Charles T. Holden thought that his tractor-trailer truck was 12-foot, 5-inches

high. He was wrong.

The 35-year-old truck driver from Naples, Fla., discovered his miscalculation

last Sunday morning when he attempted to drive the 13-foot, 5-inch vehicle

beneath the railroad overpass on Church Hill Road (Route 6).

The bridge, hanging just 12 feet, 7 inches above the street, claimed another

victim, crumpling the roof of the truck and causing its walls to buckle.

Residents have become used to seeing truck roofs peeled back like the tops of

sardine cans. But that may change. First Selectman Bob Cascella has received a

letter from the State Department of Transportation (DOT) officially informing

him that the DOT's engineering office is developing plans to replace the

bridge.

The new bridge will be higher and wider, increasing the vertical and

horizontal clearance underneath, according to Earl R. Munroe, Transportation

Engineering Administrator for the DOT's Bureau of Engineering and Highway

Operations.

Tim Gaffey, DOT project manager for the bridge project, said the roadbed under

the bridge won't be changed. The supporting structure of the new "through

girder" steel bridge will be higher, increasing the clearance from 12 feet, 7

inches to 14 feet, 6 inches.

The bridge supports will be moved to create an opening that could eventually

accommodate four lanes of traffic, Mr Gaffey said, but he stressed that there

are no immediate plans to widen the road.

"At this point, we will maintain two lanes as they exist today," he said.

During the construction period the existing bridge will be moved five feet to

the west. The new bridge then will be built 20 feet to the east.

"The bridge will be 100-feet long because it will be on an angle between the

abutments," Mr Gaffey said. He said that after the replacement bridge is

built, at a cost of $2 million to $2.5 million, it will be turned over to the

Housatonic Valley Railroad for ongoing maintenance.

The HVR bought the bridge from Conrail several years ago and had no intention

of replacing it. The DOT decided to do the project at its own expense because

of the problems with the underpass that affected truck traffic on the state

road. The project will be constructed with 80 percent federal funds and 20

percent state aid.

Mr Munroe said the present schedule indicates that design plans will be

available in May 1996, "after alternatives are studied, environmental reviews

conducted and other federal and state requirements complied with."

He said it is not anticipated that a formal public hearing will be needed on

the bridge project but, if there is adequate interest on the part of the

public, an informational meeting will be conducted. An official announcement

of the bridge project will be made soon by the DOT, he said.

The project is named Project No. 96-174, replacement of Railroad Bridge No.

00460 over US Route 6, Newtown.

Mr Gaffey said the required environmental study should not cause the same type

of delay that has occurred with the bypass road through the Fairfield Hills

campus.

"There may be some contamination in the railroad ballast caused by chemicals

used to keep the weeds from growing up," he said, "but we don't expect this to

be a problem. It isn't as complicated as getting wetlands permits."

Mr Munroe asked Mr Cascella, in a letter, to let the DOT know if any work is

planned for the roadway beneath the bridge since it is better to tear up the

pavement only once.

"By completing such work prior to or at the same time as the proposed

construction, the traveling public can be better served," he said.

Mr Cascella said he has written to Mr Munroe, informing him that there are two

local projects that would directly affect the railroad bridge project:

construction of the new sewer system and construction of the bypass road.

"The town is installing a wastewater sewer system that will be placed directly

under the railroad bridge," Mr Cascella said. "Tentative dates for the sewer

installation at this location are spring/summer 1996."

Mr Gaffey said the DOT probably wouldn't advertise for bids until late spring

with construction to begin in the late fall and continue through spring 1997.

Mr Cascella said he is also concerned about the traffic flow through town

while the bridge project is underway because the state also is scheduled to

begin work on the bypass road next summer.

"The tentative construction dates I have been given for this (bypass road) are

the summer of 1996 through the summer of 1998," the first selectman said.

"This may be problematic owing to the fact that Route 6 (Church Hill Road) and

Mile Hil Roads through the Fairfield Hills campus are the only major east/west

roads through Newtown," Mr Cascella said.

But obviously, he added, "our community is certainly pleased to see progress

on this much needed replacement."

Library Vote Postponed

Town Fails To Advertise

The town meeting on the proposed $4.1 million renovation and expansion of the

Cyrenius H. Booth Library has been postponed until Wednesday, October 25,

because the first selectman's office didn't post the required legal notice.

"It was our fault," First Selectman Bob Cascella said. "The town meeting date

was set by the Board of Selectmen, but my office never got the legal notice to

The Bee. It was an oversight."

The law requires that a legal advertisement be placed in a local newspaper at

least five days before the town meeting. News articles published in the

newspaper cannot substitute for the legal notice.

After Mr Cascella discovered the problem on Tuesday, he scheduled a special

meeting of the Board of Selectmen for Thursday morning to set a new date for

the town meeting. The town meeting will be held at 7 pm on Wednesday, October

25, at Newtown High School.

Library Director Janet Woycik said she was disappointed about the postponement

of the town meeting which originally had been scheduled for Thursday evening,

October 12.

"I hope that all the library supporters will keep their enthusiasm and come

out to vote on October 25," she said.

Mrs Woycik said she and several members of the Library Board of Trustees would

be at the high school on Thursday evening to explain to anyone who showed up

that the meeting had to be postponed.

Mrs Woycik said the two-week delay would not affect the $350,000 construction

grant which the state has awarded for the project. She also did not believe it

would require that the project be re-bid.

Mr Cascella said he has asked the town attorney, David Groggins, to speak to

the general contractor to ask for an extension of the time allowed in the

construction contract for construction to begin.

"I don't believe it will be a problem," Mr Cascella said.

The proposed 22,000-square-foot library addition includes a new reference

area, a children's library, young adults room, fiction room and a meeting room

plus parking for 80 cars in a lot behind the building. Major renovations also

will be done in the existing building. The only improvements made to the

library since it was built in 1932 have been the addition of restrooms and an

elevator in 1980.

The town already has spent $250,000 for the library architect fees. Although

procedure requires that the town vote to bond the entire $4.1 million,

$3,750,000 actually will be bonded because the town has been promised the

$350,000 state grant.