The Town of Guilford needed a roadway to provide an east-west connector from Long Hill Road to CT Route 77, which are two of the Town’s primary arterial roadways. This new connector would relieve congestion from Route 1 east-west traffic, as well as provide an alternative to Route 1 during significant rainfall events which often close Route 1.

The South Central Regional Council of Governments (SCRCOG) made funds available for this high priority project in the fall of 2004, if the Town could get the project designed, permitted and bid for construction in 2006. With the complexities of Local, State and Federal permits for a new bridge over a Class A waterway, as well as designing a project for the ConnDOT review process in a scenic setting, this became a very challenging assignment.

This project involved a new 1500-foot long alignment and extension of Hubbard Road crossing the West River, as well as a 400-foor reconstruction of Saw Mill Road to form a tee-intersection with Hubbard Road. The 90-foot bridge crossing the West River accommodates a 15 degree skew with underclearance for hikers, and fishermen.

An intricate system of on-board reviews with environmental regulating agencies, as well as ConnDOT was adopted. This allowed for significantly abbreviated reviews by all involved and allowed the project to achieve finalized studies, preliminary and final designs, and all environmental permits in a ten (10) month time period. The final product was a new roadway and a new 90’ steel beam structure with field stone concrete form liner abutments and parapets, which blend harmoniously with the scenic Guilford setting.