The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Cleanup continues on PGA course washout
CROMWELL — Work is expected to begin next week on a massive sinkhole adjacent to the TPC River Highlands golf course that left railroad tracks suspended and a jet fuel pipeline exposed, officials said Friday.
Cromwell Fire Chief Jason Balletto said the jet fuel line, operated by Buckeye Partners, was not compromised as a result of the washout, noting the department responded after a member saw a post about it on Facebook. He said Providence and Worcester Railroad crews would be working on addressing the problem.
“The private company will be handling that,” he said. “All the Cromwell Fire Department will be doing is the technical rescue team. If there’s any issues with the excavation, that has to be done by the private company. We will go for any rescue.”
Balletto said the department has set up mutual aid agreements with Middletown and Meriden to assist if any incident occurs, adding that the remediation process will take a long time.
“As of yesterday, the jet fuel line was shut down from Portland to Rocky Hill — just in case there’s any compromise with the pipe, it can be mitigated very quickly,” he said.
In a statement, Tom Cuiba, a spokesperson for Providence and Worcester, said the meeting to discuss addressing the damage went as planned, and re
pairs should start next week.
“They should take about a week to complete,” he said. “Our priority is always to get the job done safely.”
As for the impact of the washout on rail services, Cuiba said, “any washout has the potential to impact customer service, particularly on smaller railroads, where a workaround is not possible.” He said the company is working on a plan to continue services during repairs.
Cuiba did not respond to questions concerning the cost of the repairs and whether Buckeye or TPC share in the costs.
Route 9 exit damage
State Department of Transportation crews have finished initial work on the washout that damaged part of the Route 9’s Exit 19 southbound ramp.
Just miles away, the highway is fully open, with both lanes in operation, officials say. DOT spokesperson Kevin Nursick said a metal culvert that runs underneath the ramp, and into the right of way on both sides of it had washed out during the heavy rains.
“It also took a small portion of the ramp as well,” he said. “We have already made repairs to the roadway. The roadway has opened up and is all set.”
But, Nursick said, the department will need to go back and do additional work for other damage that occurred at the inlet of the culvert. He said the department still needs to assess what corrective measures need to be taken to repair the spot, and prevent a similar washout from happening in the future.
“We need to do some more analysis,” he said. “Over the next couple of weeks, we’ll be looking at it to determine the best course of action. Once we determine that, we’ll engage a project to make repairs in that section in the right of way.”
Nursick does not anticipate further work causing any traffic issues on the highway ramp.
Other issues storm-related issues
“We had multiple issues across the state during the weather event,” he said. “Those issues affected both highways and secondary state routes.”
[There were] not really any damages to the highway system,” Nursick said. “The highways system recovered quickly after the rain subsided, with flooding dissipating once the rainfall let up.
“This is one of very few examples of any real damage to the actual highway system,” he said.
That is the good news, Nursick said, but the secondary state roads, as well as town roads, did not fare as well. In all, 27 secondary state roads were closed because of flooding, fallen trees or power lines, and washouts during the storm.
“As it stands now, we responded quickly once conditions allowed,” he said. “The majority of those closures were associated with water over the roadway.”
Nursick said there was only one state road closure still in effect as of Friday afternoon — Route 315 in Simsbury still had flooding. The DOT was able to get everything else squared away fairly quickly.
“We’re glad it’s behind us,” he said.