Summer-Long Lake Ave Road Closure Features 3+ Mile Detour

By Leslie Yager

At the May 22 Board of Selectmen’s meeting a Town Dept. of Engineers request for a summer-long detour to accommodate work to the bridge over Horseneck Brook, just above Wooddale Rd on Lake Ave, was approved.

The bridge is inspected by the Connecticut DOT on an annual basis and the overall bridge rating is “Poor” according to a memo from Frank Petise, a Senior Civil Engineer with the Town.

The detour will run from tentatively from June 23 through August 22, though Petise said it might take less time.

The work includes replacing the superstructure and will involve removing the existing concrete deck and masonry parapets, then replacing them with seven pre-stressed concrete deck units that will be placed on the existing masonry abutments.

The approach guide-rail on three of the four approaches will also be replaced.

Approximately 185′ of Lake Ave will be milled and overlayed as part of the project.

The bridge was built in 1928 and rehabilitated in 1987. The bridge is inspected by the Connecticut DOT annually and the bridge’s overall rating is currently “Poor.” Specifically of the six concrete units, five were observed to have a wide range of deficiencies including random patterns of cracking, area of scale, discoloration, spalls and joint leakage.

The road closure dates were specified to minimize the impact on school buses and emergency services.