Pedestrian Bridge ‘Not a Priority’ for Old Lyme Selectmen

OLD LYME, CT – While the Board of Selectmen has not yet decided whether a plan to construct a walking bridge over the Lieutenant River is dead in the water, First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker on Wednesday said it’s “not a priority.”

After hearing from residents for and against the proposal at the last two selectmen’s meetings, Shoemaker in a phone interview said the issue won’t be taken up again until May or June. 

“It’ll be a week when we have some time to discuss it,” she said. 

The lack of urgency underscored a sentiment expressed repeatedly at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting when several residents stood up during the public comment period to describe the walking bridge as a want rather than a need. 

Opponents framed the proposal as a remnant of a controversial vision from the now-defunct Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC) that has been largely abandoned. 

The concept was inspired by a bow bridge that carried traffic over the river in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Board of Finance member Andy Russell, speaking for himself, said the decade-long effort to improve Halls Road began with plans to add sidewalks and landscaping. 

“Let’s get that done,” he said. “Let’s not muddy the waters with other things like the Bow Bridge.” 

Selectmen in 2022 authorized using $135,000 of the town’s federal pandemic-relief allocation to design the bridge, with the state’s Recreational Trails grant program chipping in another $28,500. HRIC members maintained construction would occur only if the town secured additional grant funding for the project estimated three and a half years ago at up to $2.49 million. 

The town has spent $99,092 on the design project so far, according to Finance Director Anita Mancini. The remaining $35,908 will go into the town’s social services department budget if not used by the end of the year.  

This week’s public feedback came on the heels of comments from supporters in March who said the bridge would improve safety and better link Halls Road to historic Lyme Street. They also warned backing out could harm the town’s credibility with future grant funders.

Former Selectwoman Jude Read on Monday warned of “project creep,” negative environmental impacts and maintenance costs that could affect taxpayers down the road. 

She also recalled statements from selectmen that the existing bridge carrying Halls Road traffic over the river is expected to be the subject of a state Department of Transportation reconstruction project in the coming years.  

“A pedestrian bridge that parallels the sidewalk over the same waterway as the existing – and soon to be repaired or replaced – Halls Road bridge, just a few feet away, is not needed,” she said. 

Russell and Read cited pressing needs, including the reconstruction of the bridge over Grassy Hill Road, road repairs, the purchase of fire apparatus, the dredging of Hain’s Park on Rogers Lake and the continued repayment of bonds for the Region 18 school renovation project. 

Resident Sloan Danenhower criticized selectmen for questioning whether it was necessary to include a fishing pier as part of the pedestrian bridge proposal. The pier was incorporated after an agreement was signed last year with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) to transfer additional state property around the original Bow Bridge abutments to the town. 

Separate deeds transferring the west bank property in 2015 and the east bank property in 2025 stipulate the west bank parcel must be used for fishing, crabbing and hand-carried boat access, or revert to the state.

“To even contemplate asking for bridge construction minus the pier is ludicrous,” Danenhower said. 

He reiterated there are more important priorities than a walking bridge. 

“If anything, build the pier,” he added. 

Shoemaker, who told selectmen in March she’d speak with a DEEP representative about the pier requirement, told LymeLine Wednesday she reached out to the agency on the issue but has not heard back. 

“I’ll follow up when I have time,” she said. “Again, it’s not a priority.” 

She emphasized any unspent federal pandemic-relief funds will go to the local social services department if not used to finish the pedestrian bridge design. 

“And that’s fine,” she said. “It will still go back to the town, which is the most important thing.”

Editor’s Note: This article was updated to correct a quote from Read.