DEEP Visits Flood-Prone Roads In Guilford

State Sen. Ed Meyer (D-Guilford), Guilford First Selectman Joseph Mazza and town engineer Jim Portley led a Department of Energy and Environmental Protection official around Guilford to three roads in town that create dangerous conditions when flooded, the CT State Democrats have announced. 

According to the news release, DEEP permits are required to fix the three roads--Old Quarry Road, Chaffinch Island Road and Tuttles Point Road--because of their proximity to tidal wetlands.

When flooded, the roads create hazardous conditions, stranding residents and making the roads impassable for emergency vehicles, the release says, noting that floods occur as frequently as 25 times per year, accumulating up to 2.5 feet of water. 

“This is a matter of public safety for residents of Guilford,” Meyer said in the release. “With rising seas levels in Long Island Sound and the possibility of more frequent severe storms in the future, elevating these roads and making them passable for residents and emergency vehicles is a priority. I am confident we can get DEEP’s approval to raise these roads and have minimal impact on the surrounding tidal wetlands.”

Guilford intends to apply for a DEEP permit in September, the release says, adding that plans for construction to raise the roads is expected to begin in the spring of 2013. 

“I think the town has an obligation to provide safe access to town roads,” Portley said in the release. “We’ve heard stories from residents where they couldn’t go home at night because they couldn’t see the road. It was covered with water and so dark they couldn’t make out the limits of the road. They expressed great fear of what would happen if an ambulance or fire truck was needed in case of an emergency.”