Work on the Mountain Road bridge currently being replaced by the state is “really cruising along,” First Selectman Henry Tirrell says. He reported to the Board of Selectmen Wednesday afternoon that work on the span is expected to be completed by late fall, “but most of the major stuff is done now.”
He hopes the work can wrap up quickly so he can address a sink hole that recently developed farther along the road without having to have two detours on the same road. He termed the sink hole a “Goldilocks” problem, not fitting size standards to qualify for state or federal reimbursements. He is looking for funding for the project, but to date has not found much encouragement.
Meanwhile, the sink hole remains covered by steel plates.
Tirrell’s report Wednesday prompted fellow selectman Leo Colwell to recall that the bridge being currently being replaced by the state was hastily installed following the horrendous Flood of 1955.
“All the towns had bridges washed out,” Colwell said. “People had purchased all the culverts, so Norfolk bought old industrial boilers from a New Hampshire scrapyard. They used a bunch of them—on Mountain Road, Old Goshen Road … I would be interested in knowing how they got them back here.”
The impromptu bridge is now being replaced by a $2.5 million span.
Tirrell said he has also received construction calendars for the replacement of the washed-out Old Goshen Road bridge, scheduled for April through November 2027, and the Smith Road bridge, April to November 2028. The bridges were washed out in flash floods in July 2023.