Town To Have 17 Small Bridges, Culverts Inspected Under $75,000 Contract

Town officials last week approved a $75,000 contract with a Newington-based civil engineering firm to inspect 17 small bridges and culverts in New Canaan. It’s been nearly 30 years since bridges smaller than 20 feet underwent a full inspection by the state Department of Transportation, though they’ve undergone screenings to rule out major problems, according to town Senior Engineer Joe Zagarenski. “Culverts have older or nonexistent data, so the intent of these inspections is to gather the data on these structures, identify any deficiencies and to develop a repair/maintenance plan with costs,” Zagarenski told members of the Board of Selectmen at their regular meeting, held March 7 at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

The purpose of the new contract with WMC Consulting Engineers is “identifying the small culverts” around town so municipal officials know which ones “need a little bit of work and a little more attention,” he said. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract. WMC “has recently designed and provided construction inspection services with the West Road bridge and Wastewater Treatment Plant bridge, and we’ve been very happy with their performance,” Zagarenski said.

Two EV Charging Stations Coming to Town Hall Parking Lot

Nearly one year after an appointed municipal body made the recommendation, the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday approved a contract to install two more charging stations for electric vehicles at the Town Hall parking lot. The “dual pole level 2 charger” will be located in two spots alongside the former Outback Teen Center building on the south side (toward Elm Street), officials said during the selectmen’s regular meeting, held at Town Hall and via videoconference. 

“This was in the works for some time and then there became a rebate available which will pay for basically half of this system, so we waited for that to come into play,” Joe Zagarenski, senior engineer with the New Canaan Department of Public Works, said at the meeting. First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of a $15,960 contract with New Canaan-based Santella Electric. “This lot is free for visitors to Town Hall,” Moynihan said. “How are we going to get reimbursed for the cost?”

Zagarenski said there are a few ways to do that, including through a mobile app or by assigning numbers to the two spaces in question and directing motorists to pay at the nearby Playhouse Lot machine.