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Community Corner

'Washington' Attends Ribbon Reopening Ceremony at Palmer Hill Bridge

Historic bridge reopens after being closed for 11 days for repaving; area businesses, residents relieved.

It took a little longer than anticipated, but the Palmer Hill Road Bridge finally reopened on Friday morning after having been closed for 11 days for repaving.

The repaving was the second phase of an approximately $1 million refurbishment project that began last fall. In November contractors finished repointing the historic bridge's stonework and the pavement was removed down to the original concrete decking. That phase of the project required the closure of one lane in each direction for a period of about two weeks.

In the second phase of the project, which began July 11, the bridge's concrete deck was removed, a new rubber membrance was placed over the arched section of the bridge (to prevent water from seeping in and damaging the masonry), and a new roadway was constructed. That phase of the project required both lanes of the bridge to be closed to traffic.

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The bridge's design remains exactly the same as before. Boaters who are willing to duck their heads can still pass beneath the bridge to access the upper reaches of Dumpling Pond and the river to the north.

However, both phases of the project took their toll on area residents, who had to be detoured nearly two miles to points north and south in order to find a way over the Mianus River, as well as local businesses in the North Mianus section of town.

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Town officials, residents and local business owners — as well as  representatives from WMC Consulting Engineers of Newington, which handled the design work for the project, and A. Vitti Excavators of Stamford, which did all the work — celebrate the completion of the renovations with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday morning.

Also attending was "George Washington" himself (played by RTM District 8 Member Christopher von Keyserling) — who read a proclamation for his "fourth crossing" on the historic bridge.

"This will be the fourth time I have crossed this bridge over the Mianus River," von Keyserling said, referring to his famous previous crossings of the bridge during Revolutionary times, as chronicled by historians. "My first time was with my troops hurrying to defend New York City. We were facing daunting odds against the greatest military empire ever."

"Thank God the good people of Horseneck and Sound Beach had built this bridge of the King's Highway between Philadelphia and Boston," he said. "You may remember that, at one time, the forces of King George had chased one of my best generals, Israel Putnam, out of Greenwich across this very bridge to rally the colonial forces of Stamford."

"Later, after we young Americans had won our independence at great sacrifice of blood and property, I returned to tour the New England states in order to consolidate and firm up our new Republic, our experiment form of government," he said. "Again I crossed this sturdy bridge, up and back."

"Now I will proudly cross the Palmer Hill Bridge for the fourth time in honor of those who built and continuously maintained it over almost four centuries, the People of Greenwich, and especially our modern patriots, the members and staff of the Greenwich Public Works Department, led by their own general, Amy Siebert," von Keyserling concluded.

After town officials cut the bright red ribbon that had been drawn across the bridge, workers immediately removed the construction barricades and allowed cars to pass through.

On Tuesday, officials from the town Engineering Department had predicted the bridge would reopen on Wednesday. But that was apparently an ambitious forecast, as paving was not completed until late Wednesday and the asphalt needed time to "set."

On Wednesday, town officials predicted the bridge would open on Thursday (as reported on Patch), however, due to the extreme heat, it was decided that the asphalt needed "set" an additional day. In addition, yellow traffic lines that were painted late Thursday needed to dry overnight.

The delays were of little consequence as far as the project schedule was concerned: The bridge wasn't scheduled to reopen until July 25 — according to construction signs posted on the major roadways leading to the bridge, including Palmer Hill Road, Valley Road and Sheephill Road.

Area business owners said they were relieved the bridge was reopened.

"[The closure] definitely impacted my business," said Mauricio Zapata, owner of the recently opened LaBella's Fine Wine and Spirits, located right next to the bridge at 340 Palmer Hill Rd. "I would say business was down by more than 50 percent while the bridge was closed."

Zapata said he was grateful to "all the great people in the neighborhood" who "rallied around the store and really helped keep the business going."

Zapata said as part of his strategy to maintain sales during the closure he sent emails to some customers giving them updates on the bridge construction and also offering to deliver spirits to those who were inconvenienced by the closure.

Zapata said he isn't bitter about the impact the closure had on sales. "The good thing is, the bridge is done, and it's in perfect condition again - it probably won't need rapairs for another 50 years. Having good infrastructure in the area is good for any business," he said.

In addition he said it was better for his business that the work happened during the summer "when so many people are aways on vacation."

Zapata said he's "looking forward to things getting back to normal."

"It's a great relief to have the bridge back open," he said.

Tony Gencarelli, owner of the recently opened Tony’s Deli at 322 Palmer Hill Road, also saw business drop due to the closure.

“Business was great up until the bridge went out — I’m really looking forward to things getting back to normal,” Gencarelli said Thursday.

The Town of Greenwich is reportedly eligible for reimbursement of 10 percent of the bridge project’s cost as part of a Federal Highway Administration program.

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