Bucks Sought For
Grand Bridge, Boathouse

The race to rehab the venerable yet ailing Grand Avenue Bridge is a race against not only time but increasingly fragile funding sources.

That was the message sent by City Engineer Dick Miller as he urged City Plan commissioners to authorize the beginning of the design phase for the rehab of Fair Haven’s century-old iconic span.

On Monday night Miller received the unanimous approval of the commissioners to begin the design phase of the $25 million rehab of the bridge.
That entails signing agreements with the state, which will funnel through its federally provided resources roughly 80 percent of the $1.7 million total design cost as well as 80 percent of the $25 million reconstruction costs.

If the funding is available, that is.

“If we don’t get design going today, there’s almost no chance we’ll get funding,” Miller said in his presentation.

In 2009, ConnDot declared the bridge to be only in ​“fair” condition. That designation placed the bridge on the city’s priority list for rehabilitation using state funds under the urban component of the federal Surface Transportation Program.

That requires a 10 percent city match. Miller said that the $170,000 has already been set aside in the engineering department’s capital budget.

But the serious money has not been addressed. In an email after the meeting, Miller wrote that whereas the preliminary studies have been completed, ​“the grant is only for design at this time. It will take about two years to complete. Currently we have not secured the funding for construction. We will pursue that effort as soon as the design is matured enough to be able to identify the scope of work and detail cost.”

The better the design — that is, the finer the detail — the more chance that funding agencies have to understand and commit to repairs, he added.

The anxiety at the heart of the race against time and for money is also whether the construction funding can be secured and the work accomplished before a sudden, major bridge failure.

At a public meeting on May 17 , neighbors supported the city and Miller’s presentation.They expressed concern that the work be accomplished in a planful and efficient manner so as to avoid a repeat of the prolonged era of congestion and dislocation caused by the repair to the Ferry Street Bridge.

The design work will be done by the Hardesty and Hanover company; the city engages this firm for repair work on its swing bridges throughout the city. Of the 50 city bridges, three are of the swing variety.

The Grand Avenue Bridge, which was constructed in 1898 and updated in the 1980s, has had periodic emergency electrical and other repairs to keep it swinging.

The proposed improvements include replacement of the deck on the swing span, rehabbing the drive machinery and electrical system as well as extensive repair to the masonry of the abutments and piers.

“The center pinion that rotates the bridge itself — that’s [from the] 1890s. We essentially have to lift it off and replace it with a new system,” Miller said.

Commissioner and East Rock Alderman Justin Elicker asked if traffic calming is part of the proposed plan.

“You can’t put a speed hump on it,” Miller repied.

He added that because the distance between Quinnipiac Avenue on the east side of the bridge and Front Street on the west is relatively short, ​“there’s a lot of control in terms of the signalization.”

He told Elicker the present project does not in itself contain traffic calming elements.

“It was important for me to highlight those concerns. Traffic calming for me doesn’t only mean speed humps. [There’s] striping, sharrows, bicycle access,” and similar approaches, Elicker said later.

Boathouse Bucks on the Way?

In another unanimous approval, commissioners told City Plan Department staffer Donna Hall the city may apply for the first hunk of $26 million in state money for reconstruction of the Adee Boathouse.

That historic structure was demolished in 2002 to make way for the new Q Bridge. As mitigation, the state promised funds for the historic reconstruction, to include some elements that have been saved from the original structure, on a site on Long Wharf Drive just north of the pier. The new building will be a marine education and recreation center on the theme of the harbor’s history and culture. Class and meeting rooms on the upper floor will be supported by piers around boat storage below.

In 2003 the city received $6 million of the pledged amount for engineering and design costs. The submission authorization approved Monday is for the beginning phases of construction.

“We like money,” Commissioner Roy Smith declared after the authorization passed unanimously.