NAUGATUCK — The bricks that line the newly-reconstructed Whittemore Memorial Bridge will remain through the winter, but likely not much longer than that.
The borough recently completed a roughly $6 million reconstruction of the bridge, which spans the Naugatuck River along Maple Street. The project was designed to restore the bridge to how it looked before the Flood of 1955, including laying bricks along the bridge rather than paving the road.
The bridge reopened to two-way traffic again this spring, when most of the work had been completed. However, shortly after reopening both lanes, the bricks along the bridge shifted, creating bumps and depressions along the road.
The issue stems from a drainage problem that officials initially thought was caused by the way the bridge was constructed.
However, Mayor N. Warren “Pete” Hess told the Board of Mayor and Burgesses during a special meeting last week that officials now believe the issue stems from the design of the bridge.
Mohawk Northeast, the Plantsville-based construction company that did the work on the bridge, redid the northeast corner of the bridge at no cost to the borough in October.
“While it was improved we still see some movement in the bricks. Unless there is a whole lot of maintenance committed to the bridge, you are going to keep getting movement in the bricks,” Siefert Associates President Vincent Siefert told the board.
Siefert Associates, LLC, an engineering firm with an office in Naugatuck, inspected the bridge when the project was completed.
Siefert said the bridge had gravel and stone under the bricks when it was originally built, which allowed for proper draining. After the Flood of 1955, the bridge was paved.
During the reconstruction project, the bridge was filled with concrete under the bricks to ensure it lasts 100 years, Siefert said.
Doing so made the bridge significantly sturdier, Siefert said, but it also changed the bridge’s permeability.
CHA Consulting, Inc., an engineering consulting firm, did the design work for the bridge. Since concrete was used under the bricks, Siefert said, CHA had to design an innovative drainage system for the bridge.
The consensus of the board is to remove the bricks and pave the bridge.
Public Works Director James Stewart presented the board with four options on how to proceed, all of which included removing the bricks and paving the bridge.
The options are putting down typical black asphalt, putting down colored asphalt, stamping the asphalt to look like bricks, or putting a product known as thermoplastic over the asphalt to protect it.
The cost estimates to remove the bricks and pave the bridge range from about $35,000 to approximately $181,000, depending on the option, according to Stewart.
Since the original design did not work as planned, Seifert said CHA Consulting representatives have told him the company is willing to work with the borough on fixing the problem.
Burgess Robert Neth felt Naugatuck shouldn’t be saddled with the cost since the design didn’t work.
“As far as I’m concerned, I don’t expect the borough to pay a dime on what we have to do to fix that bridge,” Neth said. “It is a design flaw. Why should we pay for a flaw?”
Hess said that’s the borough’s position and officials are in talks with the company.
A message left with CHA Consulting wasn’t returned.
The board took no action on the options Stewart presented and is expected to make a decision at a later date.
Regardless of what the board chooses to do, the bridge will have bricks through the winter because it’s too cold to lay asphalt this year, Stewart said.
