BUCKLAND — About 30 residents gathered in the Buckland Public Library to hear plans for taking down the weight-restricted Clesson Brook Road bridge and replacing it with a new pre-cast bridge that engineers say could last at least 50 years before maintenance is required.
It was good news to those living near Clesson Brook, which badly flooded their neighborhood during Tropical Storm Irene; its footings have been undermined. But for many, it may require a daily detour on Avery and Shepard roads from the end of this month through September, during the “accelerated bridge construction” process for the $1.1 million bridge replacement.
The abutments have been so damaged by debris sweeping through the stream, as happens during flooding, that the abutments must be replaced.
Completely removing the old bridge and its abutments will save construction time and costs, said Peter Grandy of Weston & Sampson.
The construction company, J.H. Maximillian, is under contract to complete the bridge construction within four months. The pre-cast bridge will be about 48 feet wide and 10 feet high, with an arched shape. Grandy said it will have 3-foot-tall guardrails and is built to withstand a 100-year flood.
When asked if it would withstand another Irene, Grandy said it would not. He said Irene was a 500-year flood, and to build a bridge of that size for a road as small as Clesson Brook Road would require lifting the road up. He said bridges on most rural roads like Clesson Brook are built to withstand 25-year floods.
Town Administrator Andrea Llamas said the town has received an $850,000 grant to cover most of the bridge costs. The work is to take place between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., starting in another week or two, and be completed by late September or early October.
There was a lot of discussion about which roads to use as the detour. Eventually, residents were in favor of detouring traffic onto Shepard and Avery roads. The schools are to be notified of the detour, in case school bus routes need to be altered for the first few weeks of school. According to Highway Superintendent Steve Daby, the detours will add between 2 minutes to nearly 10 minutes to drive time, depending upon where one is going.