Summer months bring road construction and tree maintenance for Northwest Corner town crews and Norfolk is no exception.
First Selectman Matt Riiska reminded residents this week that they can anticipate road work along highways and byways, particularly along Doolittle Road, where crews will be milling the road and chip sealing the surface.
“We have a lot of other little projects, like culvert repairs, but the biggest disruptions will be on Shepard Road, Sunset Ridge and Sunset Hill Road, when Aquarion begins its replacement of water lines,” he said. Work is expected to begin July 7.
In addition to road work, crews will be removing trees, particularly north of Golf Drive on Mountain Road. “That is a pretty serious situation,” said Riiska. “There are a lot of old maples that have gone past their life expectancy that need to be removed. I’ve contacted Eversource and we will have coordinate with them. Our crew will do what they can safely, and then we use [tree contractors.]”
All towns have had escalating budgets for tree work since the Emerald Ash Borer swept through the region. First identified in Connecticut in 2012, it has since killed up to 95 percent of the state’s ashes. The dead trees have created hazardous conditions in towns and required budgetary increases for their removal.
Norfolk has, in recent years, diverted up to $60,000 from its paving account and added it to its usual $40,000 tree account to fund the work, but this year, Riiska said, only the $50,000 currently budgeted for the tree account will be used. “We can’t [use paving funds] this year, because we need to do the work around Doolittle,” he explained.
Nevertheless, there are “tons of ash, a lot of old pines and larch all over the place that need to be taken down,” he said. “We’ll just keep picking away at it.”