For Lower River Road bridge needing update, cell tower could be a boon

CORNWALL — A survey has been completed of some 20 small bridges on town roads by Roger Kane, a retired state bridge inspector.It is a starting point for a plan to address the many spans in an aging infrastructure. The bridges are about 6 to 27 feet in length, over streams, brooks and small rivers. But nearly all provide vital access, as did the Lower River Road bridge, which was destroyed in 2011.Kane rated only six of the bridges on town roads in good condition.Another six were rated fair, and the remaining eight, poor.Those in fair-to-good condition could benefit from the removal of debris and vegetation and rail and wing wall repair, Kane reported at a May selectmen’s meeting.He recommended four bridges for evaluation by an engineer. David Battista, of Leonard Engineering, builders of the new Lower River Road bridge, has since been hired.Kane’s recommendation is to restrict commercial vehicles from using the Swifts Bridge Road that spans Gunn Brook, which, the selectmen noted, is used mainly by fishermen for access to the Housatonic River. (A covered bridge over the river was destroyed long ago and never rebuilt.) Problems there stem from the use of used steel railroad track for beams and undermined abutments.On Flat Rocks Road, heavy rust and some section-loss on a span over a branch of the Shepaug River prompted a suggested 10-ton limit. Kane said it is not a big concern because the bridge is so short that only one axle on larger vehicles will be on it at a time.While not technically a bridge, a 72-inch pipe that runs under Lake Road is recommended for replacement soon. Kane described it as rusting, hydraulically inadequate and slowly deteriorating. He said it would not catastrophically collapse, but will slowly sink.Of top concern is the only bridge not on a public road. The condition of the 17-foot Gravel Bank Road bridge on town land, off Route 128, is getting a lot of attention because of a proposed use and the potential for another entity to share the cost.The cell towerIt is the access to the town gravel pit, where AT&T is proposing a cell tower site. The town is negotiating a contract with AT&T. The site was approved by the Cornwall Planning and Zoning Commission. Once local approvals are in place, AT&T plans to submit a permit application to the Connecticut Siting Council.Kane inspected the bridge about 10 years ago. It has held up well to truck use because of the heavier-than-normal reclaimed steel used. But its slight curve stresses the substructure.A prefabricated bridge at just over 20 feet (which would put it on the state inspection list) would be a good plan and cost about $130,000, installed, Kane said.The board discussed how the bridge would be used during construction of the tower.Currently, the heaviest use is by town trucks loaded to 26,000 tons. Kane said the maximum legal load for a concrete mixer is 80,000 tons. “The biggest single vehicle to cross to build the tower would be a crane, which can weigh from 120,000 to 150,000 tons,” Kane said. “But cranes can be disassembled and brought over in pieces. If they are planning to use the bridge for construction, it does not seem unreasonable to me to ask them to share the cost of rehabilitating or replacing the bridge.”First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said AT&T engineers should be asked to inspect the bridge.Battista is looking at it now, and it is expected to be a big factor in how the selectmen decide to move forward, or not, on a lease recommendation.

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Father Joseph Kurnath

LAKEVILLE — Father Joseph G. M. Kurnath, retired priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford, passed away peacefully, at the age of 71, on Sunday, June 29, 2025.

Father Joe was born on May 21, 1954, in Waterbury, Connecticut. He attended kindergarten through high school in Bristol.

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Travel league baseball came to Torrington Thursday, June 26, when the Berkshire Bears Select Team played the Connecticut Moose 18U squad. The Moose won 6-4 in a back-and-forth game. Two players on the Bears play varsity ball at Housatonic Valley Regional High School: shortstop Anthony Foley and first baseman Wes Allyn. Foley went 1-for-3 at bat with an RBI in the game at Fuessenich Park.

 

  Anthony Foley, rising senior at Housatonic Valley Regional High School, went 1-for-3 at bat for the Bears June 26.Photo by Riley Klein 

 
Siglio Press: Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature

Uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.

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Siglio Press is a small, independent publishing house based in Egremont, Massachusetts, known for producing “uncommon books at the intersection of art and literature.” Founded and run by editor and publisher Lisa Pearson, Siglio has, since 2008, designed books that challenge conventions of both form and content.

A visit to Pearson’s airy studio suggests uncommon work, to be sure. Each of four very large tables were covered with what looked to be thousands of miniature squares of inkjet-printed, kaleidoscopically colored pieces of paper. Another table was covered with dozens of book/illustration-size, abstracted images of deer, made up of colored dots. For the enchanted and the mystified, Pearson kindly explained that these pieces were to be collaged together as artworks by the artist Richard Kraft (a frequent contributor to the Siglio Press and Pearson’s husband). The works would be accompanied by writings by two poets, Elizabeth Zuba and Monica Torre, in an as-yet-to-be-named book, inspired by a found copy of a worn French children’s book from the 1930s called “Robin de Bois” (Robin Hood).

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Cycling season: A roundup of our region’s rentals and where to ride them

Cyclists head south on the rail trail from Copake Falls.

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After a shaky start, summer has well and truly descended upon the Litchfield, Berkshire and Taconic hills, and there is no better way to get out and enjoy long-awaited good weather than on two wheels. Below, find a brief guide for those who feel the pull of the rail trail, but have yet to purchase their own ten-speed. Temporary rides are available in the tri-corner region, and their purveyors are eager to get residents of all ages, abilities and inclinations out into the open road (or bike path).

For those lucky enough to already possess their own bike, perhaps the routes described will inspire a new way to spend a Sunday afternoon. For more, visit lakevillejournal.com/tag/bike-route to check out two ride-guides from local cyclists that will appeal to enthusiasts of many levels looking for a varied trip through the region’s stunning summer scenery.

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