Some Delays Possible At Vernon's Dart Hill Bridge As Work Restarts

VERNON, CT — Motorists in Vernon Monday were being advised about possible traffic flow disruptions as work began to put the finishing touches on the Dart Hill Road Bridge.

Construction crews were at the scene with various materials and heavy equipment Monday morning and flaggers were being positioned to guide drivers, if needed. Sporadic delays are being anticipated until April 10, when the bridge will be closed with detours in place until May 8, town officials said.

The bridge project has been under way since last spring and was scheduled to be completed in the fall, but delays, blamed primarily on a natural gas pipe, forced a hasty winter opening with plans to finish up the work in the warmer months.

"The project contractor, Neri Construction, has done fine work on the project and worked hard to overcome the delays forced on it by third parties," town officials said last week. That "third party" was previously identified as Eversource Energy and the town went as far as to erect a sign blaming the utility for a prolonged closure.

When it opened in mid-December, the road was a little bumpy, but cars in Vernon were passing over the Hockanum River on the bridge.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation administered federal funds to fix the aging span totaling $1,333,200 under the Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program. Vernon's cost was about $400,000.

The original hope was to have the bridge worked on all last summer and open in time for the start of the 2022-23 school year. With eight bus routes using the bridge as well as thousands of motorists on an almost daily basis, it was deemed a priority. Delays pushed the opening to November and then it was pushed to Dec. 15.

Town officials blamed most of the delays on the new natural gas line. A temporary pipe was run over the river though the woods and it was eventually replaced by a larger capacity permanent pipe at the bridge.

When the detour is back next month, motorists will be sent to Windsorville Road, the Five-Corners rotary and Skinner Road to access that neighborhood and Skinner Road School and the Dart Hill corridor to the South Windsor line.