Norwich lining up funding for $1 million harbor improvement project
Aug. 26—NORWICH — A $1 million project to replace aging and decaying public docks, 14 steel pilings and two metal ramps at the Howard T. Brown Memorial Park at Norwich Harbor is set to be fully funded.
The Norwich Harbor Management Commission in 2019 initially estimated the cost to replace the floating concrete docks and ramps at $680,000. But a closer inspection of the facilities at Brown Park revealed the 14 pilings are decaying. The new project total is $1,041,888, with the state portion at 80% and the city's share at 20%.
"It's worn," Norwich Harbor Management Commission Chairman H. Tucker Braddock said Friday, pointing out discoloring, crumbled concrete and weeds growing through the wooden frames around the docks. "It's been there about 30 years. Public Works has done what they can do over the years, but it really needs to be upgraded."
The Connecticut Port Authority previously had approved the initial estimate of $544,020 through the Small Harbor Improvement Projects Program grant. At its Aug. 16 meeting, the authority approved the Norwich Harbor Management Commission's request for the additional $289,490 for the new pilings.
Separately, the authority also approved a $45,000 grant with no city match required to design improvements to a stone walkway leading from the city's riverfront Heritage Walkway to the bank of the Yantic River. The site now features large stone slabs leading to the river's edge, but the stones have shifted over the years, with one large slab out of place.
The Port Authority's approval will be forwarded to the state Bond Commission for consideration, possibly at the October meeting, Braddock said.
The city's 20% share of the dock and piling replacement already is in place. The initial $120,000 estimate was placed in the 2019-20 capital improvements budget. In June of this year, the City Council voted to use $100,000 of the city's federal American Rescue Plan Act grant to cover the rest of the cost.
If the Bond Commission approves the state grants, the city could advertise for bids this fall, replace the pilings in fall or winter and install the new docks next spring. The new ramp leading to the dock near the mouth of the Shetucket River ― a popular fishing spot ― will have a gradual slope to meet Americans with Disability Act handicapped accessibility criteria. Braddock said a safety rail will be added to the back of the dock.
Braddock has bigger plans to boost use of Brown Park and the city waterfront. Currently, the popular summer Rock the Docks concert series is centered at the far end of the park from the boat docks. He hopes to turn it around, placing the stage at the left end and inviting boaters to dock and hear the concert.
Braddock also is looking for a city-owned waterfront parcel to construct a boathouse for the city's collection of rowing shells now in storage. He has contacted city school officials and Norwich Free Academy in the hopes of starting a student rowing program at the harbor.
"(The shells) have been sitting for 10 years with no one using them," Braddock said.
