By Colleen Gundlach

Eight months. The residents of Smith Road and Old Goshen Road (of which I am one) have had limited
access to their homes and property for eight months, after rain in excess of 10 inches fell in Norfolk on
July 9, 2023, washing out roads and destroying property. At the time of the floods, Route 272 was closed
from Bruey Road to Parker Hill Road for several days while repairs were made to the road to make it
passable. Severe damage at the intersection of Estey Road and Route 272 was the main cause for the
closure. This area was repaired enough to allow traffic through within two weeks, but the bridges that
washed out on Old Goshen Road and Smith Road remain in the same situation today that they were in
on July 9 of last year, and there is no change in sight.

First Selectman Matt Riiska reports that these two roads will probably be reopened sometime in 2026.
So, for the next two years, residents of this area can continue to expect longer travel times to
Torrington, more difficult access for emergency vehicles and more dangerous travel in snowy or icy
weather. If you have ever traveled down Old Goshen from Bruey Road (which is now the only access to
the area), you know that this is not the way to go in bad weather. Sharp, downhill corners are the norm
on Old Goshen, particularly in front of the home known as the Torrington House. Most residents of
lower Old Goshen Road use Smith Road or the Route 272 entrance to Old Goshen to access their homes
in bad weather. This winter they, as well as the school buses that carry their children, were forced to
take the more dangerous route down the circular, curving downhill slide.

Following the flood, Riiska, along with Emergency Management Coordinator Richard Byrne and Public
Works Supervisor Troy LaMere, met with representatives from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) and documented the needs of the town to their specifications. However, since Governor
Ned Lamont failed to declare a state of emergency, there were no FEMA funds available for the bridge
work and, perhaps more importantly, no help available for the residents along Route 272 between Estey
Road and the Goshen town line and beyond, whose properties along the river were devastated by the
flooding. I attempted to contact the governor’s office to question why no declaration was made, but I
received no response.

Riiska continued to pursue funds for the bridge repairs. He was able to obtain full funding to replace
both bridges through a combination of federal and state bridge replacement programs. Eighty percent
will come from federal funds and the remainder from the state’s Local Bridges program.

The drawback to accepting state funds is that the Department of Transportation has an internal program
which provides for state engineers to do the design and construction. While this may not seem like a
drawback on the surface, for the residents of South Norfolk, it is a problem. While the state’s Dept. of
Energy and Environmental Protection, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Northwest Conservation District
and the state Historical Commission grind through their processes at the pace of a garden snail,
impacted residents are left frustrated and isolated.

An interesting point is that neither bridge was actually a bridge. Both were culverts. The Smith Road
passage was a corrugated steel tunnel under the road. The Old Goshen culvert was made from three old
boiler tubes from a defunct factory. It seems that, while the wheels of state government continue to
slowly turn, the town could put in another culvert under one of the two roads to temporarily allow safe
access to the area, or even put up a temporary bridge.

The town did look at the possibility of putting up a temporary bridge on Smith Road, but estimates came
in at $450,000. Says Riiska, “I am not ignoring it. As far as the town goes, we have to consider that we
cannot afford it. The cost of $450,000 for a temporary bridge is huge for the town.”

One more twist in the saga is that the state is looking to reengineer Route 272 at the foot of Estey Road
where it curves to Goshen East Street. With the intent of straightening out this section of the road, the
state will need a viable bypass so that they can temporarily close Route 272. Interestingly, the proposed
bypass is Old Goshen Road to Smith Road to connect back with Route 272.

This may be good news for Old Goshen and Smith Road residents because the state’s desire to get
started on the Route 272/Estey Road project may push them to move forward with the bridges on these
two roads in a more timely manner and pick up the pace. We can only hope.

It also may be bad news because, as Old Goshen Road resident Sloane Klevin stated, “Old Goshen is
already a dangerous, steep, dark, narrow road with several blind curves that nearly cause accidents
when people pass each other coming in opposite directions all the time. More cars using our road is
scary for drivers and for all the wildlife that is constantly in the middle of Old Goshen Road.”

So, after what is shaping up to be two years of limited access to their properties and more-dangerous-
than-usual travel in snowy or icy weather, residents of Old Goshen Road and Smith Road may then look
forward to having rerouted Route 272 traffic up the hill and around the narrow corners of Old
Goshen/Smith. I’m sure the tractor trailer drivers who regularly travel Route 272 are going to be quite
impressed by our quaint, narrow roads. Oh well, I guess we have at least two more years to worry about
it