Text and Photo by Wiley Wood

When the stone bridge on Mountain Road was declared in poor condition by the state’s Department of Transportation (DOT), First Selectman Matt Riiska resolved that the replacement bridge would be exactly the same, down to the stone parapets and the embedded planters at either end.

No stretch of road in Norfolk is more characteristic of the town, with its tree-lined snake fence on one side and the sweeping lawns of the Battell Stoeckel Estate on the other. Baseball season brings a scrum of cars and children to the youth league games at the ballfield, but Mountain Road, with its 25 mph speed limit, is otherwise quiet, the place Norfolkians most often go for a contemplative stroll or to give the dog a walk.

The bridge design that was presented at an informational meeting on January 6, although it recreated the stone parapets, featured 75-foot guardrails extending in either direction. These, said the representative from Cardinal Engineering Associates, a firm hired to produce the plans, were required by DOT regulations. The guardrails would be made of steel-backed wood.

The cost of replacing the bridge is estimated at $400,000. Riiska has applied to the state for a 50 percent reimbursement, but the state’s Town Aid to Roads funds have been frozen, at least temporarily.

The design by Cardinal Engineering received pushback at the informational meeting. Mountain Road resident Linda Perkins objected both to the guardrails’ aesthetic effect and their obstruction of a secondary access route to her house, which lies on the far side of Norfolk Brook.

In response, Riiska investigated alternatives and reported at the Board of Selectmen meeting on Feb. 4 that Cardinal Engineering had shortened the length of the above-ground stone structure, allowing the guardrails to be reduced to 50 feet in length. “The town’s insurer, CIRMA, has told me we could build the bridge without guardrails,” said Riiska, “but they wouldn’t insure us for it.”

Perkins requested a pause in the Mountain Road bridge project so that a committee could be formed to explore further options and potential solutions. “The proposed project,” said Perkins, “will forever negatively impact the serene character of one of our iconic roads.”

The project has since gone out to bid, and a further informational meeting will be held once the winning bidder has been chosen, according to the Selectmen’s Office.

A town meeting will be needed to approve the necessary funds.