Causing Traffic Detours—

Utility Lines Drop From Retail Building On Church Hill Road

By Andrew Gorosko

Traffic near the heavily-traveled intersection of Church Hill Road and Queen Street was detoured around a commercial building at 22 Church Hill Road on Monday, after several utility service lines attached to that structure fell to the ground.

Police, Newtown Hook & Ladder and Sandy Hook firefighters, the fire marshal, the Connecticut Light & Power Company, a private electrical contractor, the town building inspector, and a structural engineer responded to the scene.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead said it initially had appeared that some vehicle may have snagged utility service lines leading to the building, causing the lines to drop to the ground.

But further investigation indicated that there probably was no vehicle involved, and that the lines simply dropped to the ground when the utility connection point on the building failed.

The building houses Newtown Convenience Store and Newtown Florist. The utilities are connected to the building’s southeast corner. The building is across Church Hill Road from Hawley School.

Police described the problem as the collapse of a fragile building section. The problem appears to have occurred due to wood rot causing the utility connection point to collapse under its own weight, police said. No injuries were reported, police said.

Mr Halstead said that the weight of the utility lines bearing upon the building and the physical tension of those lines apparently resulted in the collapse. No evidence of a vehicle impact could be found, he said.

High winds, which were prevalent during the previous weekend, could have been a factor, he said.

Firefighters checked the building for possible fires, but found none, he said.

Building Official Tom Paternoster said it is unclear what caused the utility lines to fall to the ground.

Mr Paternoster, who inspected the premises, had the building’s owner summon a structural engineer inspect the building to determine whether structural hazards are present.

Temporary utility service has been restored to the building, Mr Paternoster said. The section of the building where the utility lines fell will need to be fortified for a permanent repair, he said.