Town officials this week received state approval to go out to bid on the replacement of Jelliff Mill Bridge, a widely anticipated project that could start as early as July.
Plans call for installation of a temporary bridge to the south of existing structure during construction, to ensure motor vehicle traffic can cross the span in both directions simultaneously, according to Department of Public Works Assistant Director Tiger Mann.
The bridge over the Noroton River, just south of Jelliff Mill Pond, is “scour critical,” Mann said—meaning its center pier is susceptible to erosion, which eventually can compromise the integrity of the bridge. Because of that, the state and federal governments will pay for 80 percent of the project—the Mariomi Road and Hickok Road bridge replacements worked the same way.
Right now, Mann said, work still as to be done vis-à-vis rights-of-way, “because there are some easements that still have to be made with regard to the bridge, either a construction easement or a minor easement there, some of them for utilities, some for actual construction.”
Work could start as soon as July and would take about two years to complete, Mann said.
Located just off of the Merritt and the Metro-North Railroad New Canaan branch station at Talmadge Hill, Jelliff Mill Road is an important, heavily used connector between Route 106 and Ponus Ridge. The nearest roads that do the same job are Frogtown Road to the north and Woodway Road (just past the golf club, hooking up with Hope Street) to the south.