KENT, Conn.—The Inland Wetlands scheduled action on an application to replace a bridge deck until its July meeting but promised to hold a special meeting before then if the bridge deteriorates to the point when engineer Pat Hackett believes it is an emergency.
The bridge, which spans Bog Hollow Brook, was built in the late 1970s and is 25 feet long and 14 feet wide. Hackett told the IWC members that the beams on one side have rotted, although the decking and abutments remain sound. “We think the beams were affected by road salt,” he said. “The new beams will be galvanized and little heavier.”
The project entails removing the deck and replacing the beams. There is no anticipated effect on the stream.
Hackett said a tarp would be suspended below the bridge span to catch any debris that might fall into the water.
“The beams are seriously in need of replacement,” Hackett said, adding that the bridge is the only access three families have to their homes, so the work would be completed in about a week. At present, the property owners are driving their cars on the side of the bridge that is sounder.
He asked if work could begin before August and was told the plan would probably be approved at the July meeting but that there is a 15-day period after that when members of the public can comment. “You can start, but it is at your own risk,” Werner said.
Member Paul Yagid commented on the urgency of providing a safe passageway for the residents. “Passenger cars can use it, but a truck could be real problem,” he said.
Werner said that, as the application was incomplete, it could not be acted upon, even as an emergency measure. Hackett was urged to complete the application as soon as possible so, if an emergency session is required, it could be called within a day.
“If you have everything there and are getting nervous [about the bridge’s condition], call us,” Werner said.
In other business, engineer George Johannesen provided the remaining information required by the commission and the IWC members approved an application to subdivide one lot from a previously divided parcel at 49 Beardsley Road. Creating a third parcel classified it as a subdivision.
Johannesen submitted a site plan and reported that an easement area had been worked out with the land trust. “A neighbor had a pipe that washed out and we have to put in pipes to get into the property,” Johannesen reported. The pipes, two 50-foot-long lengths with 48-inch openings are sized to accommodate the DOT’s standard of a 50-year storm, he said.
The IWC members tabled until July an application from Steve Abbate of 99B Cobble Road for a carport and patio. The minor construction will consist of four posts sunk in the ground to support a roof. The bluestone patio exists and Abbate wants to smooth out the area and reinstall the stone.
The work would be done about 41 feet from a pond and the IWC members worried that dirt removed to dig the holes for the posts might wash into it if there were a heavy storm. The stockpile area for supplies would be in the existing driveway and Abbate explained that any earth material would be spread, seeded and hayed. It was agreed that hay bales would be used to keep any earth materials from silting into the pond until the area can be stabilized.
