Community Corner

Town shows off Ellington Avenue Reconstruction Project

Town is hoping that federal Block Grant money can help fund it.


The town on Tuesday presented a plan to reconstruct Ellington Avenue from Prospect Street to the Ellington town line as part of the Community Development Block Grant application process.

The grant is part of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's Small Cities program and funds are filtered to towns by the state. 

The limit of the grant is $500,000 and the project would take up all of it. No complete price tag for the project was released at the hearing, but a blueprint of the project, formulated by Meriden-based Cardinal Engineering Associates, was presented at the annual CDBG public hearing on Tuesday.

The hearing was supposed to take place as part of a Town Council meeting, but the meeting was canceled because of quorum issues.

Six council members were present and council member Brian Motola, the deputy mayor, assumed the chair for Mayor Jason McCoy. The public hearing does not require a quorum.

Town Engineer Terry McCarthy explained that the project stretches 655 feet along Ellington Avenue and then about 150 feet down Talcott and Davis avenues. The roadway would be completely rebuilt and remain 30-feet wide. Sidewalks would also be re-done.

McCarthy said the road has been resurfaced so much that the pavement is practically up to the curbing, which presents a drainage problem during heavy rains. 

He said all driveway aprons and sidewalks would be reconstructed and sidewalks would remain 5-feet in width. New catch basins would be installed.

If awarded, the grant would be for 2012.

Town officials said Ellington Avenue is be the logical next step for the grant because Prospect Street has already been refurbished in  three phases over the past three years.

A group of residents from Anchorage and Cubles Drive near Middle Bolton Lake came to the council to state their case for a road project, but came away disappointed when town officials explained their area did not qualify.

The residents said the road has not been adequately resurfaced for more than three decades and that it drains poorly during periods of heavy rain.

The residents showed a slide show that depicted cracked pavement, worn out pavement and puddles everywhere, some that make the roads barely passable.


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