The UHa community was thrilled that they could drive and walk over the new bridge when it was structurally completed in January. This made it much easier to navigate from the residential side of campus to the academic side, and vice versa.

There are even more improvements in progress now, including the installation of sidewalks, railings, lighting, and plants.

Many are wondering why these installments could not be stalled until the students leave campus. Chris Dupuis, Senior Project Manager of the bridge construction and landscaping, said that the university wants these aesthetic enhancements to be completed in time for Commencement on May 19.

Moreover, the work crew could not install the sidewalks “until the bridge, roadway, curbing and guardrails were installed,” Dupuis disclosed.

“By the time these components were installed, the weather was too cold to install the sidewalk sections without installing a lot of additional ‘winter protection’ measures to ensure that the sidewalk materials wouldn’t freeze and be damaged during the installation and curing process,” said Dupuis.

Construction workers wanted to make sure the permanent sidewalks would be “of the best quality and durability” and the only way to ensure that was to wait until the spring.

Dupuis gave even more detail as to why the bridge needed to replace the dam in the first place. The dam, built circa 1960, “had exceeded its useful lifespan” and so the bridge was constructed for “environmental, functional and safety benefits,” said Dupuis.

In 2010, a report was issued by the Park River Watershed Revitalization Initiative and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Removing the dam on campus was one of eleven recommendations to restore this section of the North Branch of the Park River Watershed.

Most importantly, to most members of the UHa community is that “the dam removal will significantly improve the flooding situation on campus,” said Dupuis.

He also stated, “removal of the old dam will provide greatly improved fish passage and in-stream habitat…by opening up an additional four miles of barrier-free waterways.”

Furthermore, the new bridge is made of concrete, which demands less maintenance than constructing the bridge out of steel or reinstalling a dam.

Restoring the Park River Watershed to its natural river bed clearly benefits both the environment and the UHa community. The new bridge is safer and more stable, and soon to be much more aesthetically pleasing as well.

The UHa community is eager to see the bridge reach full completion, and we thank the construction workers who have been working hard to have the project completed by Commencement weekend.