The Grand Avenue bridge over the Quinnipiac River is in “fair” condition. Is that good or bad news for weary East Siders?
Carolyn Christmann and Heather Findlay were among 30 neighbors who received an update about several bridge and road projects in their neighborhood at a meeting Tuesday night.
They gathered in a room at the Waucoma Yacht Club on Front Street — between the noisy bar and the busy bathroom — to hear city engineer Dick Miller (pictured) give the lowdown on projects that have been underway or under discussion for years.
He said work on the Ferry Street bridge, which has been closed for years, is on schedule for a February, 2009, completion date, at a cost of $21 million. Fair Haven Heights Alderman Alex Rhodeen (pictured), who called the meeting, even predicted the bridge would likely reopen sometime this year.
Once it opens, the Grand Avenue bridge will shut down for repairs. Ed Schwartz, a Quinnipiac Avenue resident (pictured on the right, with the area’s state representative, Bob Megna), asked about its status.
“It’s in fair condition,” having recently been inspected, Miller said.
“But ‘fair condition’ means it’s not going to fail tomorrow,” he told his audience, no doubt trying to reassure them. He said the center pinion of the swing bridge has not been replaced since the 1890s, and the estimated cost of repair is about $15 million. He added that 40 to 50 percent of the South Central Connecticut Council of Government’s (COG) funds (serving a 17-town area) for bridge repair comes to New Haven.
There are 50 bridges in New Haven; it must sometimes seem to residents of Fair Haven that half of them are in their neighborhood. Due to the closure of the Ferry Street bridge, increased traffic is funneled across Grand Avenue, often creating bottlenecks and dangerous conditions for cyclists and pedestrians. Those concerns were also addressed at the meeting. Carolyn Christmann and Heather Findlay (a dynamic duo pictured on the left and right in the photo at the top of this story) asked lots of questions about the timing and cost of various projects.
Findlay said after the meeting, “Traffic has increased, quality of life has decreased, and we’ve been working five or six years to get this done…we’re excited because we’re on the brink of all these things, but they haven’t happened yet.” Click here to hear more.
Quinnipiac Avenue is being redesigned from Fulton Street to Clifton Street with improvements that include, according to a memo from Rhodeen, “traffic calming, wider sidewalks, designated parking, historic lighting and other improvements to make the road more pedestrian/biker friendly and reflect the historic qualities of the neighborhood.” Seven million dollars has been earmarked for the project from COG funds, which is scheduled to start in the spring of 2009, although under questioning Miller acknowledged that it could get bumped if another project in the region is deemed more critical.
Other issues concerned the fate of the brownstone steps of several homes, which are in danger of being replaced by concrete steps; sewer backups that already occur and could get worse with construction projects; and the fate of a proposed pedestrian bridge as part of the Ferry Street bridge project (it’s been put on hold because Miller said the $2 million estimate was way too expensive).
"and the fate of a proposed pedestrian bridge as part of the Ferry Street bridge project (it's been put on hold because Miller said the $2 million estimate was way to expensive)."
How come the city cares about cars more than pedestrians? The projects should have been tied together, so you couldn't have one without the other. Also, any reconstructed bridges should include better bicycle lanes and sidewalks. If the city wants to have a chance of competing for 21st century jobs, it needs to make itself more pedestrian and bicycle friendly. People decide where to live and create new jobs primarily based on quality of life issues like this.