By Susan MacEachron

CHA Consulting and Garg Engineering presented plans for replacing the bridges over Hall Meadow Brook on Old Goshen Road and Smith Road at the Inland Wetlands Agency meeting on April 6. The work on Old Goshen Road is expected to begin in April 2027 and should be completed by the fall. The Smith Road construction is slated to begin in spring 2028.

CHA was represented by Dionys Quezada, project engineer; Claire Christiana, environmental scientist; Olin Mather, water resources engineer; and Thomas Bulzak, hydraulic engineer. David McKay represented Garg. Quezada presented detailed plans for the construction of the Old Goshen Road bridge, which will be approximately 24 feet long, 29 feet from one supporting abutment to the other.

Prior to commencing work, permits must be approved by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which can take eight or nine months. Hence the need to start the approval process so construction can begin next April.
Once the Old Goshen Road bridge is completed in fall 2027, it will provide a detour that will allow the temporary bridge on Smith Road to be replaced with a permanent one.

Both new bridges are being designed to withstand a 100-year storm and will have three feet of clearance, as required by Connecticut Department of Transportation standards. It was noted that the July 2023 storm that washed out the two bridges was more akin to a 500-year storm due to the intense rainfall in a short period of time. The open-span design of the new bridge allows for greater movement of water and an improvement in the environmental conditions. The plans also call for the stream bed to be restored to its natural grade and slope.

The application was accepted and most likely will be approved at the May meeting. It did not appear that Wetlands members thought a public hearing would be necessary. They then briefly discussed the proposed new fee structure for permits. It was agreed that the revised fee schedule should be presented at a public hearing. Wetlands Enforcement Officer Stacey Sefcik said that DEEP must be notified prior to a public hearing and recommended that it be scheduled for the June 1 meeting.