Selectmen Review Road Woes, Pending Projects

By John Voket

It was all about Newtown’s highways and byways at the only Board of Selectmen meeting scheduled this July. The July 5 meeting, with Selectman William Furrier absent, provided an opportunity for the board to learn about pending local highway department projects, and to hear a couple of complaints about how unregistered dirt bikes are affecting the quality of life and public safety in local neighborhoods.

Before receiving a comprehensive road project update from Public Works Director Fred Hurley and Town Engineer Ron Bolmer, First Selectman Pat Llodra reported a letter of complaint from an unidentified town resident who was concerned about unregistered dirt bikes operating on the street and off road adjacent to his property.

Mrs Llodra said she though it was important to raise the issue during the public meeting because the concern reflected a challenging “quality of life issue.” She said the citizen identified himself as a former race car driver and enthusiast, identifying somewhat with those who enjoy operating and racing the small but often noisy sport cycles.

But nonetheless, Mrs Llodra said the town asks a lot from its residents in the form of taxes, and that much like the complainant, residents in neighborhoods where noisy and unregistered dirt bikes are operating on or off the roadways are entitled to enjoy peace and quiet.

This discussion prompted former first selectman Joe Borst to speak near the close of the meeting, sharing his concern and frustration with those operating unregistered dirt bikes at what he believes are dangerous speeds in and around his home in Sandy Hook.

“I’m afraid someone is going to hit one of the kids playing,” Mr Borst said. “Parents need to realize that when they give these kids dirt bikes, they are riding them all over town, and they are noisy.”

Mrs Llodra said that residents can be very helpful in addressing the problem by immediately reporting anyone operating dirt bikes or ATVs in local neighborhoods to the police, especially if they are unregistered (without tags) on local roadways.

During his presentation Mr Hurley also touched on the issue of speeding vehicles, saying that permanent speed tables are set to be installed on Key Rock Road replacing temporary units that were placed there on a trial basis to test their effectiveness. He said the installation was a precedent-setting development in town, but was being pushed by a growing public frustration with speeding vehicles.

The local road project update provided an overview of a roadway project that will commence this summer to address a known hazardous spot on Hanover Road that has been growing worse in recent years. Mr Hurley and Mr Bolmer said the area of Hanover Road around the Interstate 84 crossover is experiencing some erosion, which is causing the guide rails to collapse into a gully and adjacent wetlands.

“Retaining walls are not effective, and filling would require compromising about 5,000 square feet of wetland,” Mr Bolmer told the selectmen.

The fix will require temporarily closing the roadway and lowering the profile of the stretch to reacquire enough of the road’s edge to reestablish purchase for the guide rail system that would prevent a vehicle from falling or sliding into the gully, which has an 10- to 20-foot drop. The project will require reorienting the surface for about 1,000 feet between a local pump station and the I-84 overpass.

Mr Hurley said he earmarked $100,000 for the work in his road budget for this fiscal year, and he was confident the town could conserve expenses by having his department do most or all of the earth moving and asphalt removal. A contractor must be hired to install the new guide rail posts, Mr Hurley explained, as well as to take down about 22 trees to make room for the renovation.

The project is expected to extend into September, which means there may be full or partial road closures in the area affecting school bus traffic, Mr Hurley said, adding that he has already coordinated with the school transportation office on the matter.

A stretch of Jordan Hill Road is next up for paving, which could begin as early as July 8, the highway department chief said. Drainage issues in the neighborhood have been corrected, Mr Hurley said, so the resurfacing integrity should hold up better through seasonal weather changes.

“This is not a patch job, it’s a long-term solution,” he said, adding that similar repairs and resurfacing are scheduled to begin soon on Newbury Road.

Brushy Hill and Eden Hill Roads will see drainage and resurfacing work as well this summer, Mr Hurley said, and the first phase of a water line extension in Sandy Hook will bring the busy intersection at Glen, Riverside, and Church Hill Roads down to one lane for several days in mid-August.

“We expect the basic pipes to be in and be back to full traffic flow by the time the buses roll,” he added, “but we’ll keep one lane of traffic open at all times [during construction].”

Following the meeting, Mrs Llodra said that there will be a link, that will be updated weekly on the town website, detailing where road work in town is expected to cause delays or temporary closures so residents could plan or avoid any traffic delays throughout the summer and beyond. She also made a similar report to the Legislative Council July 6.