Commission approves replacement of Bass Road bridge destroyed by 2023 scouring

The Town of Scotland Inland Wetlands and Watercourses Commission on Jan. 6 approved IWWC #2025-007 for the replacement of Bridge #04772 on Bass Road over Merrick Brook. Daniel Carnein, P.E., project engineer with GM2, and Michelle Handfield, P.E., senior hydraulic engineer, presented the project and reviewed design, resilience, and construction staging.

Carnein said the former 21‑foot span was destroyed in a scouring event in September 2023 and that the proposed structure would span 54 feet from abutment to abutment. He and Handfield said Connecticut Department of Transportation is overseeing the design under the Federal Local Bridge Program at no cost to the town; after design the town will assume responsibility for construction and hire consultants to oversee construction.

Engineers described hydraulic design details: the low chord of the structure sits about 0.3 foot above the 100‑year flood elevation, and in a 100‑year event there would be approximately 4 feet of clearance between the water surface and the roadway. Abutments are sized to resist a 200‑year scour event and carry checks to a 500‑year event; presenters said there would be about 3 feet from water level to roadway in a 500‑year storm. Construction will use the existing road closure and detour; a coffer dam will maintain roughly a 6‑foot channel during in‑stream work. Presenters described mitigation measures, exclusionary fencing to protect wildlife, and a separate CT DEEP permit for impacts to adjacent state property.

After discussion the Commission voted to approve the application; Chair Alan McLevy moved the motion, seconded by William Syme, and it passed 3‑0. The engineers outlined an inspection and oversight process that will follow state and federal requirements as the project moves toward construction.