SUFFIELD, CT — Suffield has been awarded more than $1.62 million in state funding to replace a deteriorated Hickory Street bridge and failed culverts on Copper Hill Road, with town plans calling for construction in 2027.
Gov. Ned Lamont and the Connecticut Department of Transportation announced the awards Wednesday as part of a $16.8 million package supporting 13 local bridge projects in 11 municipalities.
Suffield will receive $778,179 to replace Bridge #139006 on Hickory Street over Fourmile Brook. The bridge is located about two-tenths of a mile east of Clay Creek Drive, according to CTDOT's municipal bridge inventory.
The state announcement referred to the road as Hickory Road. CTDOT's bridge inventory and Suffield's own capital-project materials identify it as Hickory Street.
Built in 1930, the Hickory Street bridge is a concrete slab structure. Town officials said in February that extensive concrete loss, scour and deterioration of its wingwalls and abutments had significantly compromised the bridge's structural integrity.
The second award, $841,929, will go toward replacing Bridge #139009, a pair of failed culverts on Copper Hill Road about two-tenths of a mile north of Phelps Road. CTDOT lists the crossing as an unnamed stream.
Town officials said the Copper Hill culverts have already failed and are currently covered with steel plates. The town's February presentation described the structure's superstructure as poor and its substructure as serious to critical, recommending immediate replacement.
Suffield's project schedule calls for engineering, permitting and contractor selection to continue through late 2026 or early 2027, followed by an anticipated construction period from April through October 2027. That schedule remains subject to final design, approvals and bidding.
The State Local Bridge Program covers 50 percent of eligible reconstruction costs. Municipalities administer project design and construction and are responsible for the local share.
Other grants announced in this round went to Burlington, Fairfield, Harwinton, New Canaan, New Milford, Southbury, Stamford, Stonington, West Hartford and Winchester. Since 2016, Connecticut has awarded about $180 million through the Local Bridge Program, according to CTDOT.
For more Northern Connecticut news, follow Patch editor Jay Kenney.
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