PLAINVILLE – The re-opening of the Tomlinson Ave. bridge, currently under construction, has been pushed to October due to supply chain issues.

The Tomlinson Ave. bridge project began on Feb. 22. The bridge was closed to traffic as of April 11, with detour signs put in place to redirect motorists. A state grant is covering 80% of this $2 million project.

On Sunday, Town Manager Michael Paulhus announced the delay on the Plainville Talks community social media page.

"The construction project required the removal and replacement of a water line and parts that were ordered in April are now scheduled to ship by the end of August," Paulhus said. "Once received, it will take Dayton Construction approximately two to three weeks to install and test the water line. Re-paving will take another two to hree weeks, weather permitting. School administrators have been notified of the delay."

Town Engineer John Bossi said the project includes the removal of the previous corrugated metal twin culverts, which had deteriorated. They will be replaced with pre-cast twin box culverts made from concrete. The project also includes channel modifications and pavement repairs.

“The bridge was built in the late 1960s,” Bossi said. “The new bridge will have precast concrete square culverts, which will have a longer service life.”

This project had been in the works for 15 years, according to Bossi. He said it had been delayed due to several “regulatory snags” along the way.

Robert Lee, the previous town manager, explained earlier this year that the delays were a result of several required reviews by state and federal agencies. Other designs looked at in the past included creating a protective “sleeve” over the existing tubes or adding a third tube to increase the bridge’s flood capacity. However, there were environmental concerns with these plans.

“The bridge travels over the Quinnipiac River and it was determined by the design corps and DEEP (Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) that the original design would not allow fish to travel further upstream," Lee said at the time. "We had to pretty much throw that design out and start over. The review process dragged on and on, but it is now finally actually going forward.”

Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806

bristolpress.com Phone number: 860-584-0501 E-mail: editor@bristolpress.com Address: 188 Main St. Bristol, CT 06010