Ponus Ridge will be closed north of the Greenley Road intersection from July through November for a bridge replacement project, officials say.
The Board of Selectmen last week approved about $1.4 million in contracts—80% of which is to be paid by the federal government—for work in constructing and inspecting the Ponus Ridge Bridge at Collins Pond.
Ponus Ridge Bridge from the northbound approach on May 7, 2023. Credit: Michael Dinan
According to town Senior Engineer Joe Zagarenski, the official detour routes will be Greenley to West Road south of the work, and Dan’s Highway to West Road to the north.
“That is official route,” Zagarenski told the selectmen during their regular meeting, held May 2 at Town Hall and via videoconference. “People are going to find other routes.”
Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams and First Selectman Kevin Moynihan voted 3-0 in favor of a $1,125,937 contract with NJR Construction and $272,950 contract with M&J Engineering.
The town has been “very involved” in the design process since early-2020, Zagarenski said.
“We made sure it met the town of New Canaan standards,” he said. “We upgraded the stone cladding as well as upgraded the bridge rail system.”
The construction contractor, NJR, “successfully completed our Mariomi Bridge about eight, ten years ago,” Zagarenski said, referring to a bridge in eastern New Canaan.
“The project is scheduled for the summer, wrapping up before Thanksgiving,” he said. “Permitting is complete, including wetlands. Tree work and utility relocations will start over the next few weeks. The bridge will be closed and the detour will be in place approximately July to November of ‘23.”
The selectmen asked who determines the detour routes (the state), what the local cost share will be (80% reimbursement through the federal bridge program and up to 20% of state funding), who is on the hook if the project goes over budget (the feds account for 10% “and then we have a conversation after 10%,” Zagarenski said) and whether the engineering firm is on site every day of construction (yes).
Moynihan said that since Greenley is a windy road, Wahackme would make more sense for a detour. Zagarenski said he didn’t believe much of the truck traffic would be diverted onto Greenley since it’s “sort of already a back road.”
Corbet noted that the contracts include language that the town is approving a “not to exceed” amount as well as a contingency, saying that didn’t make sense.
Zagarenski responded that the town received qualified bids from three firms and then after New Canaan settled on one “the state of Connecticut negotiates the dollar amount and up to a certain amount of hours so there’s a certain amount of hours and I wrote on the ‘not to exceed’ because that’s the way the contracts are in, but if they perform more work that may not be covered by that contract. There could in fact be an additional cost incurred.”
Corbet said that if the wording of the contract is from the town, it should be changed since “if there’s a contingency they’re going to exceed it.”
She and Williams cast their ‘yes’ votes on the contracts with that modification.
I wonder what provisions will be made for those living in the closed zone.
I would think the town would be concerned with going over a contingency. The movie theatre is a good example. Maybe I am wrong, but-