It Will Be A Single-File Summer At Deep Brook & Route 302

By Andrew Gorosko

Motorists traveling on Route 302 (Sugar Street), near Castle Hill Farm, are now taking their travel cues from a temporary set of traffic signals installed there to regulate traffic flow while a road improvement project is underway.

In a construction contract estimated to be worth about $850,000, Dayton Construction Company, Inc, has started work on a project to install two reinforced-concrete box culverts located beneath the roadway to carry Deep Brook beneath Route 302, said Kevin Nursick, a state Department of Transportation (DOT) spokesman.

Because the project requires extensive work, during which time travel lanes are obstructed by heavy equipment, dual temporary sets of traffic signals have been installed to create alternating east/west traffic flow in the work area.

The work is underway on a straightaway lying west of the Meadowbrook Terrace Mobile Home Park. The construction company is using a farm field adjacent to the site to store equipment.

The project involves installing twin reinforced-concrete box culverts beneath the road, which is about 33 feet wide at that area. The road carries about 8,400 vehicles daily in that area.

The existing structure shows extensive deterioration of its concrete deck and is unable to meet the current standards for drainage flow during a 100-year storm, according to Mr Nursick. A 100-year storm represents the worst flooding that can be expected during a hypothetical 100-year period.

The construction will be conducted in two stages. In the current stage, the eastbound lane is closed for construction, while the westbound lane remains open to alternating east/west traffic controlled by traffic signals. During the second construction stage, the westbound lane will be closed for construction and the eastbound lane will carry alternating east/west traffic flow controlled by traffic signals.

The construction will include the relocation of certain public utilities, Mr Nursick said.

Construction work, which started in early June, is expected to be completed by sometime in November, Mr Nursick said.

When completed, the new brook crossing will include concrete parapets on both sides of the road to replace the existing flex-beam metal guardrails there. The approaches to the reconstructed bridge will be lined with metal guardrails.

Dayton Construction was the low bidder on the project. Bids were opened last December and awarded in April. Dayton also is performing a similar project in Bethel.