Covered Bridge will get new steel, deck

CORNWALL — Expected to take 224 days to complete, work on repairs to West Cornwall’s historic Covered Bridge has begun, according to an update heard by the Board of Selectmen at their Dec. 19 meeting.

Reporting on the work was Roger Kane, consultant to the selectmen on bridges in town. 

The project is expected to cost $1.3 million. The bridge will remain open to traffic during most of that time, although it will be closed for 29 days next September, beginning on or about Labor Day weekend. 

The project is in its preliminary stages, according to Kane. Actual physical work on the bridge will not begin until March. Mohawk Northeast is doing the work; they are now engaged in determining construction details. The project is being coordinated out of the Department of Transportation office in Thomaston.

The selectmen emphasized that speed is important in completing the project. First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said that the board is worried about the impact of the project on the commercial center of West Cornwall.

Kane reported that the construction company is willing to work six days a week and 12 hours per day, if necessary. The selectmen were told that there is a penalty if the project runs long; and there is a bonus if the team finishes the work more quickly than the 224 days allotted.

The Covered Bridge is steel encased in a wooden structure. A hidden orthotropic steel deck, installed in the 1970s, provides load-bearing strength. During that project, the bridge was jacked up and the steel deck was installed. Now the steel  has deteriorated and is in need of rehabilitation.  

When the steel work is completed, a new wooden bridge floor will be laid. Residents will notice a change. The new plank boards will run lengthwise, rather than crosswise.

Turning attention to the Ford Hill Road bridge which is in need of painting, Kane said that the work will be subject to federal guidelines regulating paint drift, but there will be no state or federal funds to help support the work. The bridge was last painted in the 1960s and the paint now suffers the effects of decades of wind erosion. Kane said that the bridge itself is in good condition.

Sewer project petition

A petition signed by 19 residents who oppose the West Cornwall sewer project has been received by the selectmen. Their opposition is to the project as it is currently presented. The 19 who signed the petition either own property in West Cornwall or live there. Ridgway commented that it is not unusual for a project of such magnitude to experience opposition, and he said that taking the residents’ concerns into account is important.

The impressive Cornwall Bridge lighted holiday tree at the intersection of Routes 7 and 4 has the distinction of being the largest, live, solar-powered tree in the U.S., the selectmen noted.