Government

Town Officials Urge State To Delay Route 123 Project Until Spring 2021

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Saying they’re concerned about starting a construction project so close to a major holiday as well as the date that asphalt plants shut down for winter, town officials voted Wednesday night to urge the state to put off a bridge replacement along Route 123 to next spring. As it stands, the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s replacement of a box culvert just north of the state road’s intersection of Glen Drive would start Oct. 12 and continue for an estimated three weeks. The work will require closing Route 123 in both directions. 

Yet the contractor on the job has itself asked for a delay because the materials for the culvert now won’t be available until Nov. 2, meaning any bad weather will delay the project into December, according to New Canaan Public Works Director Tiger Mann.

Government

‘Arguably the Worst Road in Town’: Selectmen Approve $758,000  Repaving of Field Crest and Village

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The Board of Selectmen on Tuesday voted unanimously to extend a contract with a Norwalk-based company for the repaving of two roads in New Canaan that public works officials say need it the most. The $758,000 extension with FGB Construction will is for the paving of Field Crest Road and Village Drive, both located off of Farm Road opposite Saxe Middle School, as well as drainage and sidewalk improvements. 

They’re two of five New Canaan roads—with Brinckerhoff Avenue, Lockwood Avenue and Mortimer Street—that had been scheduled for repaving around the time Eversource brought natural gas to town. So, the work was put off until the utility came through, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. 

The residents of Field Crest and Village who wanted to access natural gas have done so and “they are very much in favor of having this road done, especially considering it was torn up for gas lines and then Aquarion came in and put up an entirely new water main service there,” Mann said. “It is arguably the worst road in town, or one of the worst roads in town, and we would like to complete the work this year,” he said at the meeting, held via videoconference. 

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan and Selectmen Kathleen Corbet and Nick Williams voted 3-0 in favor of the contract extension. Funds are included in the approved paving budget.

First Selectman Pooh-Poohs Wastewater Test for COVID-19 Virus

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Days after the mayor of neighboring Stamford issued a warning about the risk of increased COVID-19 virus cases based on a test of the city’s wastewater system, New Canaan’s highest elected official voiced skepticism about the value of such a test here. Addressing the prospect of the test in New Canaan, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said Tuesday, “I am a little skeptical myself about the value of doing that testing.”

“I think the testing of individuals is much more important,” he said during a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, held via videoconference. “The fact that we have tested 4,000 residents in the past 60, 80, 90 days and the fact that also we do not have people claiming that they’re ill. To me that is kind of a very rough test and wouldn’t be that helpful.”

Moynihan added that although he’s read reports that “fecal testing may be more effective with babies,” still “the wastewater is very, very rough kind of test and doesn’t tell you that much.”

The topic was raised by Selectman Kathleen Corbet during a discussion of general matters. She referred to an emergency bulletin from Stamford Mayor David Martin that “a COVID-19 early warning wastewater system detected a potential increase in cases of COVID-19 in Stamford.”

Corbet asked whether such a test would be valuable for New Canaan.

Board of Selectmen

Officials Approve Contract in Hopes of Expanding Natural Gas Installation in Downtown New Canaan

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Town officials approved a $20,000 contract last week with a land surveying company in hopes that it will signal to Eversource that New Canaan is ready to run natural gas on the western side of the downtown. The work by Bridgeport-based Cabezas DeAngelis—for the reconstruction of sidewalks and streetscape on Pine Street—would take place after the installation of gas there, officials said at the Aug. 18 meeting of the Board of Selectmen. “This will hopefully put a little fire to Eversource saying that we have plans to come in and redo this area, and we would like you to come in first and take care of it so we don’t have to come in after and then pave it again,” Public Works Director Tiger Mann said during the meeting, held via videoconference. The Board of Selectmen voted 3-0 to approve the contract.

Board of Selectmen

Town Approves $350,000 for School Parking Lot, Playground Work

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Town officials have approved a $350,000 contract with a Monroe-based company to repave some New Canaan High School parking lots as well as to repair a playground at South School that’s expected to get more use this coming academic year. The work will include repaving the parking lots in front of the high school as well as one on its south side near Dunning Stadium, according to Public Works Director Tiger Mann. The “band lot” fronting Farm Road also could be done for an additional approximately $10,000, he told the Board of Selectmen at their most recent meeting. At South School, the project will include part of a playground out front of the school. “That playground is in disrepair,” Mann told the selectmen at their regular meeting, held Aug.