By Andy Brophy

A $172,500 funding request for the initial design and permitting of a replacement bridge on Jesup Road received its final town approval Thursday night.

The Representative Town Meeting’s vote was 26-0.

Larry Roberts, director of the town’s Department of Public Works, told RTM members he would present plans to make Bay Street and Taylor Place two ways at a Board of Selectmen’s meeting on Wednesday (though the agenda would need to be revised). The proposals are designed to improve traffic flow downtown that was disrupted after the Jesup Road bridge was closed after being severely damaged in a Sept. 13 storm.

Bay Street is now one-way away from Post Road East, and making it two ways would only involve installing signs and putting stripes on the street, according to Roberts. Taylor Place is one way toward the Post Road, but, unlike Bay Street, the state Department of Transportation would be involved in making Taylor Place two ways because a traffic light and pedestrian crossing are at the intersection of Taylor Place and the Post Road East.

Despite residents’ concerns that a replacement bridge on Jesup Road be built as quickly as possible, a new bridge likely won’t open for 18 months, mostly due to obtaining permits, Roberts said.

The replacement bridge has to be wider so Deadman Brook can better flow under it, and it needs “hardier abutments,” Roberts said. He said Deadman Brook is also a tidal waterway, and all of those factors require longer reviews before permits are issued, he said.

Roberts added that grants are not paid out retroactively, so the town would have to wait to receive grants before beginning construction. “We can’t build the bridge first and then get paid back for it,” he said.

Roberts said the town is aware of a state grant that would fund 50 percent of the bridge’s estimated $3+ million construction cost. “When all is said and done, it’s important we get at least $1.5 million,” he said.

But the town can remove the damaged bridge before obtaining grants and may do that because if the damaged bridge collapses, it could block the waterway underneath it, Roberts said.

Nancy Kail, RTM D9, questioned whether the town should consider funding all of the replacement bridge’s cost to speed up the process, but Roberts said, “The timeline for design, engineering and permitting will take about the same amount of time.”

“We are going to make it larger and that triggers additional permitting,” he said. “Eighteen months is an expedited timeline.”

Larry Kleinman, RTM D7, asked whether a permanent replacement bridge could be built off-site and then brought to Westport to be installed, and Roberts said that was under consideration. He said a new bridge on Cross Highway consisted of pre-cast concrete structures and that “could very well be done here.”

Roberts said the damaged bridge, built in 1952, was not a historic structure, though it was within a historic district on Jesup Road. He said bridges on Cross Highway and Kings Highway North have stone veneers and “that’s what we will strive for with the Jesup Road bridge.”

Several RTM members spoke of the need to examine culverts and infrastructure in other parts of town so what happened to the Jesup Road bridge on Sept. 13 doesn’t happen elsewhere. Roberts said town officials plan to act in other areas. “There’s a lot of work to do, and it’s going to be expensive,” he said. “These storms are going to continue, and culverts are undersized.”

Toni Simonetti, a member of the public who participated in the RTM’s Zoom meeting, said the Jesup Road bridge was “critical,” and Jimmy Izzo, RTM D3, said it was “a very important roadway bridge.”

“These kinds of infrastructure projects are so important,” Simonetti said. “I wish you could get it done faster, as we all do, but I understand the complexities of waterways.”

Wendy Batteau, RTM D8, asked who monitored water quality during significant storms, and Roberts said the town monitors water going in and out of the town’s wastewater treatment plant multiple times a day. He added the plant has the ability to treat stormwater.

The wastewater treatment plant received 9.6 million gallons of water on Sept. 13, from five to nine times the amount normally received in a day, according to Roberts. He said the amount of water on Sept. 13 had diluted a small amount of sewage and that private wells and residents’ health were not adversely affected.

“We brought in a lot, but we were able to treat it,” he said.

Kail said she’d “love to see regular weekly updates on the bridge replacement and (traffic) mitigation plan.”

Roberts said the DPW’s page on the town’s website has monthly infrastructure updates and that he expects to have more information on the bridge replacement process and traffic mitigation mid-next week.

Andy Brophy

Andy Brophy is an experienced Fairfield County journalist. Andy was a staff writer at The Connecticut Post for 10 years. He also wrote for the Norwalk Hour, Fairfield Minuteman, Fairfield Patch and weekly newspapers in Westport, Fairfield and Norwalk. When not reporting, Andy enjoys playing chess and listening to pianist Art Tatum. ^_.