Committee opposes amendment to H.488 after debate over sidewalk removal on Route 12 bridge in Berlin

An amendment to H.488 that would have required the Agency of Transportation (AOT) to review and, where feasible, modify agreements with municipalities to preserve sidewalks on imminent bridge projects drew broad discussion and a unanimous unfavorable straw poll from the House Transportation Committee on March 26.

Representative Van Donahue (Berlin), sponsor of the amendment, said the change was prompted by the planned replacement of the Route 12 bridge over the Dog River in the Riverton neighborhood of Berlin. Donahue said the existing bridge includes a long‑standing sidewalk cleared by a private resident, and that current designs remove that sidewalk in favor of a wider shared bike area after AOT declined to proceed with the earlier sidewalk design because the town would not sign the agency's proposed memorandum of…