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Bokum Road Closure a Last Effort Before Spring

A segment of Bokum Road at the intersection of Route 154 in Old Saybrook will be closed to non-residents until 5 p.m. today. This closure is to accommodate the final piece of the project to grind the road to its base and coat with an asphalt binder. The work will then be put on hold until spring, when the asphalt plants re-open and the weather is more favorable for paving. The work began at the Essex border.

After two years of drought, the Connecticut Water Company (CWC) in June 2017 connected two of its primary reservoirs, located within 2 ½ miles of each other, to ensure that water levels were consistent. The CWC installed approximately 2.4 miles of water main along Bokum Road between Route 154 in Old Saybrook and Viny Hill Drive in Essex.

After completing such projects, the CWC typically will contract to repair the road from the “centerline to the curb,” according to Old Saybrook First Selectman Carl P. Fortuna, Jr., although it will also offer the town funds, based on its estimated cost of that work, to enable the town to repair the road itself.

The Town of Old Saybrook elected to accept the funds in order to repair the road “curb to curb,” said Fortuna. He estimates that the CWC gave the town around $260,000 and it cost the town approximately $50,000 more to repair the entire road from the Essex line to Route 154.

Bokum Road is used by many residents who, in addition to commuters, like to walk or bike along it, and many have expressed their eagerness to Fortuna for the work to be completed.

“The road is 90 percent better than it was already,” said Fortuna, referring to the preliminary work completed this winter.