Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure Bridge Replacement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Stratford accepts bridge project application to replace Broad Street crossing over Ferry Creek
Summary
Town engineer John Casey presented a plan to replace the Broad Street bridge over Ferry Creek with three 72-inch culverts, raise the road to the 100-year flood elevation and install manually operated tide/sluice gates; the commission accepted the application as complete.
John Casey, Stratford’s town engineer, told the Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission that the town proposes to replace the existing Broad Street crossing over Ferry Creek with a structure composed of three 72-inch reinforced concrete pipe (RCP) culverts, to replace headwalls and to install manually operated tide/sluice gates as requested by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEP).
“The proposal is to replace the bridge over Ferry Creek, on Broad Street,” Casey said, describing plans to raise the road profile at the crossing to the 100-year flood elevation to reduce overtopping during coastal storm events. Casey said raising Broad Street and the adjacent Ferry Boulevard low point would reduce times when the pump station at the bridge must pump against tidal inflow.
Casey told commissioners the DEP permit requires tide gate flexibility: the sluice/tide gates will operate in a down (closed) position with a normal flap gate that allows upstream freshwater flow while preventing tidal inflow; the gates are manually operable and could be opened in the future to allow tidal exchange if DEP later determines that is desirable. “In the current term, it’ll function as it does today,” Casey said, while noting the sluice gates provide flexibility for future management.
Commissioners asked about aquatic species passage; Casey said the new structure would match the functional operation of the existing crossing and that DEP’s approach allows the agency to evaluate future changes to tidal exchange. The engineering description included three 72-inch RCP culverts, replacement of headwalls and tie gates, and a road-raising to the 100-year flood elevation.
The commission voted to accept the bridge proposal application as complete for regulatory review. The acceptance does not itself authorize construction; DEP has issued a permit for the project and staff and commissioners said they will review detailed plans and any additional materials before issuing any local approvals.
Commissioners and staff noted the structure (installed in the 1950s) is at the end of its useful life and that replacement and road raising will provide flood control benefits. The commission accepted the application by voice vote; members present responded “Aye.”
