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10/17/2017 12:00 AMSome projects can be pushed until the last possible minute, but bridges don’t land in that category. Acknowledging that the Saw Mill Road Bridge over West River is getting old, Guilford officials are looking into a plan to replace the bridge and are seeking public input.
Town Engineer Jim Portley said the bridge was built in the early 1900s and the decking was last replaced in the 1960s. While the bridge is no immediate danger of collapse, Portley said the bridge is old and doesn’t meet all of the state standards.
“It is slowly deteriorating; the guardrails don’t meet any of the current safety standards, so its time has come,” he said. “It was built for a time before cars and trucks and it is just at that point where it should be replaced.”
The state Department of Transportation (DOT) revised safety standards for bridges following the Mianus River Bridge collapse in 1983, according to Portley. The Mianus River Bridge on I-95 collapsed when a large section of the bridge dropped out, sending cars and tractor-trailers into the river. Three people died.
“From that point on the state has a regular inspection of all of the bridges in the state. DOT does it and they go through and do an evaluation of the structural capacity of the bridge and the safety considerations,” he said. “Then they give it a bridge rating and long story short, Saw Mill Road Bridge has gotten to the point where it is not dangerous, but it does fit the category for bridge replacement.”
According to a press release from the town on Oct. 13, if the project is undertaken, design would likely occur in 2018 and construction in 2019. The cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $1.7 million, but the town has secured federal funding through the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act administered by the Federal Highway Administration and Connecticut DOT. Through this grant, the town would receive 80 percent reimbursement through federal aid and would have to cover the remaining 20 percent of the project. The town as identified the Local Capital Improvements Projects fund to pay the town’s portion.
To replace this bridge, Portley said the best course of action would be to close the bridge completely and re-route traffic, something he said he hopes won’t be too big of an inconvenience because of Hubbard Road Bridge. Portley said with any project of this size and because it involves federal money, the town is urging residents with questions or comments to contact the town.
“It is part of the whole federal program,” he said. “When you do any major project like this and there is federal money, you have to allow the public an opportunity to stand up and ask questions or make comments.”
Town Engineer Jim Portley can be reached at 203-453-8037.