WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Suffield Street is closed to through traffic after movement in the sidewalls of a failing culvert made the roadway unsafe, cutting off the route near the Windsor Locks town line.
The Town of Suffield said Friday morning that traffic is being stopped at Mather Street for southbound drivers and at the town line for northbound drivers coming from Windsor Locks. No vehicles can cross the culvert.
Windsor Locks police said local traffic can still travel to the town line and about a half-mile into Suffield, but there is no through traffic beyond the closure. Drivers heading farther north are being directed to use Route 159 North, Boston Neck Road and Mather Street before returning to Suffield Street.
The closure came after a recent inspection found the culvert's sidewalls had moved. Police said the roadway could no longer be considered safe for travel. Emergency responders in Suffield and Windsor Locks have been notified and will adjust routes as needed.
The failing crossing carries Suffield Street over an unnamed stream. A town-commissioned engineering assessment had already found pipes had disconnected, soil was running through the joints and the culvert's headwalls had structural cracking and were shifting away from the roadway.
The assessment rated the crossing's superstructure as poor, its substructure and roadway approach as serious, and its waterway condition as fair to poor. Engineers recommended immediate replacement.
Town officials included the culvert among six structures identified as serious safety concerns in a February capital-project presentation. At that time, the town said the failed culvert was being covered with plates.
The town estimated the Suffield Street project at $1.08 million and included it in its 2026 road-improvements capital package. The previously outlined schedule called for engineering and permitting work this year, a Transportation Rural Improvement Program grant application in 2027 and construction between April and October 2027.
That state program could cover up to 100 percent of construction costs, while Suffield would remain responsible for engineering, permitting and any costs not covered by grant funding.
The town said Friday it is working to rebuild the culvert and reopen the road as soon as possible, but did not provide a reopening date or say whether the emergency closure will change the prior construction schedule.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Windsor Locks Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.