Silvermine FallsNASH
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NASH NEWS
February, 2011
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Preparing for Yet Another Storm!
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As the City and region for prepares yet another storm and the increased potential for power outages, we offer the following information: 
  1. Preparing for a Blackout
     
  2. Tool Kit
Also, please note that community libraries will be used as warming centers if there are outages and Brien McMahon HS is on standby as a shelter for residents.

ConnDOT downsizes plan for Route 15 bridge

On June 30, 2009, the Connecticut Department of Transportation (ConnDot) held an informational meeting at Norwalk City Hall to discuss their plans to rebuild the Merritt Parkway bridges over the Silvermine River and Silvermine Avenue. 

 

Residents of Silvermine, and members of the NASH Board of Directors, voiced their concerns and objections to plans to include the historic Silvermine Avenue Bridge in the project.  The article below, reprinted by permission of The Hour, recaps ConnDot's decision to exclude the historic Silvermine Avenue Bridge from this project.  As, ConnDot's representative said, "we heard your concerns".

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By Staff Writer Robert Koch
 

In the wake of residents' concerns, the Connecticut Department of Transportation has downsized its plan to reconstruct the Route 15 bridge over Silvermine River.

As recently as a year and a half ago, the department had anticipated having to also rebuild the nearby Route 15 bridge over Silvermine Avenue, but residents objected, noting that that bridge is historic.

At a public information meeting last Tuesday night, ConnDOT officials outlined the revamped plan to fix the bridge over the river. The new plan no longer calls for altering the smaller bridge to the west, according to Lee H. Levey, president of the Norwalk Association of Silvermine Homeowners.

"When they had their last public meeting about a year and a half ago, I think the public let them that know how we felt about what they wanted to do (to the smaller bridge)," Levey said. "I think we're pleased that the project has gotten smaller and does not involve tearing down a historic bridge. But what I think bothers the residents in general is that the work (still) is going to be conducted between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m."

The noise potential has Ken Kubie concerned. Kubie lives at 168 Silvermine Ave., or as he puts it, within a stone's throw of the bridge. Motorists driving southbound on the Merritt Parkway, he said, can see him wave from his porch. While Kubie acknowledges that the bridge needs to be fixed, he's not looking forward to hearing . the accompanying noise. He anticipates having to relocate during the construction period.

"They're going to have the lights going. They're going to be dragging chains across (the roadway), jackhammers going. It's going to be pretty ugly for a while," Kubie said. "We're going to need some other place to live."

Levey, an architect, said he'd like to see the state and the contractor explore the possibility of using a sound curtain -- heavy-duty canvas -- to blunt the travel of noise during the bridgework.

ConnDOT has determined that the bridge, a three-span structure built in 1958, has a "deficient deck" which is in need of rehabilitation. The project calls for patching the bridge deck, installing a cathodic, or electric protection system, to halt corrosion in the deck, replacing the load-bearing devices which support the steel beams, and painting the beam ends, according to ConnDOT.

Construction is to proceed in stages using night-time, off-peak lane closures, while maintaining one lane of traffic at all times in each direction. During reconstruction, two lanes of travel will be maintained in each direction during the day. The project is expected to begin in the spring of 2012 and finish in the fall of 2012.

The bridge measure 203 long and 65.5 feet wide. Because it was rebuilt after the 1955 flood, it is not regarded as historical significant and is not included in the state's historic bridge inventory, according to ConnDOT.

That's not the case with the smaller bridge . . .

Our Mission
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The mission of the Norwalk Association of Silvermine Homeowners (NASH) is to provide a voice for Silvermine as a historic, cultural and natural resource. We support a vision of a rural neighborhood within whose boundaries change can continue to occur while the feeling of community and the "sense of place" remain strong, the important historic structures are preserved, and the existing biodiversity, in all its richness, is not compromised.
Quick Link
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Contact Information
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email:  [email protected]
mailing address:  NASH, P.M.B 731, Norwalk, CT 06850
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NASH Board
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Lee Levey, President; Christine Names, Vice President; Eric Nelson, Secretary; Linda Lee, Treasurer; Heather Dunn; Leigh Finley; Leigh Grant; John Kahler; Alex Modica; Sue Palinkos
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