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infrastructure

Falls Village Report warns of ‘Imminent Failure’ of Cobble Rd. bridge

FALLS VILLAGE – The Falls Village Board of Selectmen discussed several infrastructure issues during its May 11 meeting, including a newly released state report on the now-closed Cobble Road bridge.

First Selectman David Barger said the state Department of Transportation recently delivered a 66-page report to Town Hall.

“It’s quite extensive,” Barger said. “What it came down to is the bridge is buckling.”

The report is available for public review at Town Hall.

On page five of the report, the bridge’s superstructure received its lowest rating.

“IMMINENT FAILURE,” it reads. “Bridge is closed to traffic due to component condition. Repair or rehabilitation may return the bridge to service.”

The bridge bearings were rated “poor,” defined in the report as “widespread moderate or isolated defects; strength and/or performance of the component is affected.”

The bridge was closed indefinitely on March 30 following a state DOT inspection. At the time, Barger said the replacement project is eligible for full federal funding because the bridge is 120 feet long or more, which is the primary criterion for federal funding.

The current timeline calls for the bridge to reopen in 2030.

The town also has six additional bridges and culverts requiring work: Undermountain Road over Ledgy Brook, Undermountain Road over Deming Brook, Barnes Road over Wangum Lake Brook, Canaan Mountain Road over Wangum Lake Brook, Canaan Mountain Road over unnamed stream, and Music Mountain Road over Flat Brook.

Patrick L. Sullivan
Senior Reporter
Patrick Sullivan has been a reporter for The Lakeville Journal since 2004, covering everything from town meetings to local characters and the outdoors. He grew up in Northern Virginia but spent summers on Mount Riga in Salisbury, giving him a lifelong connection to the Northwest Corner. A graduate of Denison University, Patrick is also the author of Tangled Lines, the newspapers’ popular fly-fishing column—making The Lakeville Journal, as far as anyone knows, the only newspaper in Connecticut with a regular fly-fishing columnist. He once received a fan letter from England, which he considers sufficient evidence that his work has achieved international acclaim.
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