Noroton Heights Fire Department Seeks To Fix Its Retaining Wall

DARIEN, CT — The Noroton Heights Fire Department is seeking to replace its retaining wall at 209 Noroton Ave., and on Monday, the Board of Selectmen approved $2,006,100 for costs associated with the project.

Shaun Volin of the NHFD went before the selectmen to make the appropriation request. The selectmen meeting was held virtually and is available to watch on-demand on Darien TV79.

The original retaining wall was built in the 1950s as part of the original building construction, Volin said. In 2023, the Noroton Avenue parking lot pavement began to cave in and the fence started to collapse. The NHFD contracted with ReStructure Engineering, who conducted a study that determined the wall must be rebuilt.

The project went out to bid in May 2024 and only one submission was received at $1.4 million.

The appropriation approved by the selectmen takes into account the construction admin. phase, special inspections, a town fee, closeout from engineering and contingency, according to Volin's presentation.

A new wall will be designed to retain soil and the weight of vehicles parked adjacent to the wall and act as a building foundation wall if the building is expanded.

Additionally, the wall will be built with reinforced concrete and a chain-link fence anchored to the top of the wall. A vehicular barrier will be anchored in front of the wall to prevent vehicles from driving over the edge, Volin said.

Volin noted two alternative options at lesser amounts that would shore up the wall, but First Selectman Jon Zagrodzky said the structure needs to be fully rebuilt.

"This is a problem and we're going to have to fix it. I don't think there's any real option for shoring it up anymore. I see no evidence either of those two paths forward makes sense," Zagrodzky said.

Volin said the project is expected to take six to eight months to complete.

"If everything goes as planned, the contractor has tentatively given us a start date of some time in June, depending on all the approvals," Volin said.

The funding must also be approved by the Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.