Smith Road Bridge Ready for Traffic 

By Matt Riiska

By the time you read this, the Smith Road temporary bridge will be open. I want to thank the Old Goshen Road and Smith Road residents for their patience during this long, and sometimes frustrating process. Our contractor Will Sweeney of Evergreen Construction did a fantastic job as he always does.
The next step in this process will be the construction of the permanent bridges at Old Goshen Road and Smith Road, with the Old Goshen Road bridge scheduled for late 2026, followed by Smith Road in 2027. The temporary bridge on Smith Road will be removed once the Old Goshen Road bridge is complete. The culverts used for the temporary bridge will be saved for future projects.

Construction of the new fire house is currently out to bid. Our next step will be to review the bids when received on July 2. The process is to receive the bids, document each one and then review the bids to make sure they include all the required components. Since we have chosen to use a construction management company, Newfield Construction, each component of the building process is being quoted, including site preparation, concrete work, steel construction and the like. The Firehouse Building Committee believed we will have more control of costs and the timeline by having a construction management company controlling the entire process. The groundbreaking planned for mid-August. Construction will take approximately 18 months.

The summer heat is here, and I know many will head to Tobey Pond to get some relief from the 90-degree temperatures. There have been discussions regarding the use of sunscreen at Tobey, particularly the popular brands that might not be environmentally friendly. For years Great Mountain Forest, from which we lease Tobey Pond, has established standards to keep Tobey as pristine as possible. We all need to do our part to keep all the environmentally sensitive areas in Norfolk, including Tobey Pond, and the world as clean and safe as we can. An owner of a local landscaping company brought a website to my attention that reviews sunscreen and addresses other health and environmental concerns. It is run by a non-profit organization called the Environmental Working Group and the address is www.ewg.org. Check it out. You might be surprised by the impact of the products you choose to use.

Have a great summer. Remember, please slow down and enjoy everything Norfolk has to offer.