June 6, 2006

SINKING HOMES: WHALLEY AVE. UPGRADE WON’T HARM AREA, DOT SAYS

By Angela Carter, Register Staff

NEW HAVEN — As the state Department of Transportation attempts to reduce the number of accidents along a stretch of Whalley Avenue in Westville, some residents fear road reconstruction and related drainage improvements could worsen a mystifying pattern of sinking homes.

Since summer 2004, homeowners in the Beverly Hills section of Westville have been meeting with city officials, state Rep. Patricia Dillon, D-New Haven, and state Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, about a yet-to-be-discovered culprit that is causing water to seep into their basements, cracks to destabilize their foundations, support beams to shift and even some trees to die.

Meanwhile, the DOT has plans to replace and upgrade culverts, pipes and other structures that handle water flows into the West River; expand Whalley Avenue from its intersection with Route 69 eastbound to Emerson Street, and install new sidewalks and curbing.

"We’re still asking questions," said Kathie Hurley, a Beverly Road resident who walked a portion of the project site Monday with DOT and state Department of Environmental Protection officials prior to a public hearing at DOT’s District 3 headquarters on Pond Lily Avenue.

"We need to be reassured whatever happens does not further destabilize the neighborhood," said Melanie Stengel, also a Beverly Road resident and New Haven Register photographer.

The Beverly Hills section is several blocks from the project’s parameters, but Dillon urged DOT and DEP representatives to analyze whether the Whalley Avenue proposal could have an unforeseen impact on groundwater and to research maps and projects that might reveal whether underground tributaries have been altered already.

Arthur Christian of the DEP said the department would give attention to Dillon’s request and identify resources to locate the information she wants gathered.

"When you’re losing your home, there’s an intense desire to hold every government agency up to the highest scrutiny," said Dillon, who along with Harp lobbied for funding to continue a study of the area by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

DEP Hearing Officer Jean Dellamarggio said the proceeding would be held open until June 20 for additional public comment or responses from DEP and DOT to public testimony.

Sharon Yurasevecz, the DEP civil engineer who reviewed DOT’s proposal, has found the project was designed with "sound engineering practices" and poses no adverse flooding impact. She did not object to issuance of an inland/wetlands permit.

A study authorized by the mayor’s office found that the disturbance in Beverly Hills could be caused by changes in the water table or peat fill giving way under homes built where an ice pond once stood.

But Dillon said a phase one study by the science academy found homes are shifting that were not constructed where the pond was filled in, and about $200,000 allocated by the General Assembly will allow further testing at several properties.

Rachel Vaters-Carr of Westerleigh Road cautioned that as portions of the roadway and drainage systems are taken off line during construction, contractors must be careful to "protect the neighboring area."

DOT Project Manager Richard Zbrozek said during the site walk that the bid specifications would be written in a way that requires the contractor to keep traffic flowing through the area safely and to complete construction one block at a time.

DOT Transportation Engineer Craig Babowicz said project designs should be completed by September, making way to bid the project. Construction is targeted to begin next April, he said.