Chaplin’s North Bear Hill Road Bridge Eligible for Replacement

The North Bear Hill Bridge has been eligible for replacement under the Federal Bridge program for close to 10 years now. The condition of the bridge has been rated as poor for quite some time and is in need of replacement. The problem has been that the Federal Bridge Program only reimburses for 80% of the project costs with the town being responsible for the other 20%. The cost of this project is estimated to be well over a million dollars to meet federal construction guidelines to qualify for the federal reimbursement. Because of the $200,000 to $300,000 out of pocket cost to the town this project has been delayed and put off for many years.

As a result of these delays the bridge has been patched and propped up along with losing some of its rated capacity over the last several years. In response to the looming need to replace the bridge and the thought of tax payers having to fund the 20% match the Board of Selectmen decided to apply for STEAP grant funds from the State of Connecticut in the amount of $350,000 to cover the out of pocket cost to the town. The good news is on Wednesday the 29th 2010 the state released its STEAP grant award list and the town of Chaplin was awarded $200,000 for the North Bear Hill Bridge project. This may or may not cover the town's 20% share of the costs but it will go a long way to soften the impact.

The Board of selectman will continue to apply for grant money to try and lower out of pocket expense to the town. It is still going to be up to the town to decide at a town meeting if they want to proceed with the replacement of the bridge or not. Look for a public information session coming soon so that the scope of the project can be presented to the town’s residents and your questions answered.